


Roaming Hands

by GodlessOx



Series: Don't Mind the Gap [3]
Category: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Genre: Awkward First Time, Biting, F/M, Fluff and Smut, Humor, Link doesn't mind a little pain, Link is a master chef, Little Sidion is jealous of the time that swordsman spends with his sister, Masturbation, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Oral Sex, Rough Sex, Sexual Frustration, Vaginal Fingering, Vaginal Sex, a quieter Link, slight blood
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-03
Updated: 2019-08-14
Packaged: 2020-04-07 02:16:36
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 26,495
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19075447
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GodlessOx/pseuds/GodlessOx
Summary: There was a strong chance that one, or both of them would not survive the coming Calamity. She needed him to know what he was to her. Mipha refused to leave this world with regrets.The Zora Princess only needed two things to ensure Link knew: her own scales, and his measurements. When he arrived next week, they would steal away, like they always did. However, this time would be different. This time there would be no interuptions. This time, if she bit back her nervousness, she would finally know him, and he would finally know her.





	1. Scales

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Special thanks to InfiniteSeahorse for being my proofreader. Oh, the typos they caught, that my sleepless mind couldn't.

Mipha sighed in relief when she reached Vah Ruta's central control panel. The Champion carefully set down the bundle she had smuggled from the armory. She had drained the chamber of water weeks ago, and arranged a mess of cushions around the control panel so she could work in comfort. The soft bedding enjoyed by Hylians was nowhere near as relaxing as a deep pool of water, but it was better than the hard metal that formed Ruta's body.

She offered her Beast a prayer of thanks, and commanded it to make a lazy patrol around the mountains that surrounded her homeland. Privacy was a scarce resource in the Domain, and Ruta made hiding her project almost effortless.

True, there were many places beneath the waves where you could safely steal away for moments of intimacy, and hide personal treasures, but Mipha needed dry land for her project. She needed a place to work in obscurity. A place where she could lose herself in her work, without fear of attack. Most importantly, she needed a place of absolute security to hide her materials and tools from prying eyes.

The Princess was crafting a set of armor, and every Zora knew what that meant. The only one she had told thus far was her father, and she hoped to keep it that way.

Mipha thought briefly of Muzu as she opened her bundle, revealing a large amount of leather and metal. He'd never liked Hylians, and as much he cared for his student, he would likely never understand the love she held for her comrade. She couldn't risk word of this reaching him. Not until she knew Link's answer. She would need his strength when she told her teacher. Although Mipha was fairly center certain how the other Champion would respond, she was still anxious. These were trying times, and Link was clearly overburdened. He felt so distant now.

Mipha shook her head, inhaled sharply, and removed her jewelry and Champion's sash. There was a strong chance that one, or both of them would not survive the coming Calamity. She _needed_ him to know what he was to her. Mipha refused to leave this world with regrets.

She slowly ran her hands over her chest, down her stomach, and across the red of her legs. She repeated this motion again, adding her arms and shoulders into the mix. It was on the third lap of her body that her claws struck gold; loose scales.

Zoras shed and regrew scales almost as frequently as they did teeth. It was always a small amount, and most never noticed the loss due to their new scales growing in just beneath the old.

Once she was sure of what she wanted, Mipha began to perform this ritual multiple times each day. Scales were the only material she still lacked. She needed to collect another half dozen white, and two dozen red for her planned pattern on the arm bracers. It didn't help that they tended to fall free while she swam.

The Zora Champion slid a claw beneath the loose scales on her shoulder fin, working them off of their replacements. The process never caused her any pain or discomfort. The nerves that normally connected skin to scale had already been severed by the natural process of shedding. Still, Mipha had no doubt about how… unpleasant her actions would look to an observer. Even another Zora would find the act strange. Most would never have the need to collect their own scales, after all.

The Zora Princess almost envied the other maidens of her race. Their proposal gift was simple; a sapphire set into the jewelry of their choice. It still required a great deal of time and metal working to be done right, but at least it wasn't a entire suit of armor.

Mipha frowned at the prize in her hand. Three scales. Yes, she almost envied the other women of Zora's Domain. However, she knew that her gift held more than meaning than a brooch or bracelet ever could. She was giving up a part of herself to protect the man she loved. That thought alone made it worth the hassle.

She placed the red scales to the side, and returned her hands to the front of her torso. Perhaps she would have better luck with white scales. Only the women of her race had them, and they only covered the aforementioned area. Every other patch of white was made of smooth, slick skin. Most scholars agreed the white scales' purpose was to protect a mother's eggs while they developed inside her womb.

It made sense, given their location, thickness, and general lack of sensation. Mipha could hardly feel her fingers as they slid across her belly. However, if she applied just the right amount of pressure with her knuckles…

The Champion's breath caught in her throat when she felt her stomach tighten. Mipha shook her head. Scales. She needed scales. Not this. Certainly not in her Divine Beast.

And yet, the young woman found herself applying unnecessary pressure as she searched her body. Her fingers lingering in the places where hard scale turned to sensitive skin.

Would Ruta really care? Could it even understand what she was doing? How long had it been since she'd last taken care of herself? Not since she’d been appointed as Ruta’s pilot… Mipha grabbed the scales she set aside moments ago, added them to the satchel where the rest were stored, and moved to sit against one of the chamber walls. She forced away her shame and guilt. If her Beast became angered by her actions, it would let its annoyance be known.

Mipha felt her whole body shudder when she ghosted her nails over the gills on her left flank. They were the only section on her chest that bore flesh instead of scales. The Champion had always known they were the most vulnerable part of her body. Her drill instructor had taught that painful lesson time and time again. What she hadn’t known was how sensitive they were to touch. Not until Link had gripped her a little too tightly during one of their “training” sessions.

The Zora ran a hand beneath the fin on her hip, over the cream of her thighs, and up to her chest, all while she teased the delicate skin of her gills. It wasn’t hard to imagine it was Link’s hands that were touching her. He had traced that very same path before. Mipha wasn’t sure when training had become their excuse for time alone together. Oh, they still sparred at times, but more often than not they would just spend the time huddled close together. Some “training sessions” were spent simply enjoying each other’s company, and others were far more passionate.

A small sigh escaped Mipha’s lips as she ran a claw along the nearly invisible line of her hips where scale met skin. She felt a familiar heat growing in her core. She had yet to be intimate with Link. Oh, the two Champions had come frustratingly close more than once, but the timing had never been quite right. Something _always_ came up.

She had never even seen him. All of him. He was shirtless whenever they sparred, swam, and fished together, but he never stripped his lower half further than the light trousers he wore under his armor. Hylians were so shy. They almost seemed ashamed of their own bodies. Perhaps they were. When Mipha was young, she asked an elder why humans wore so many articles of clothing. The old woman huffed, saying they did so to hide that fact they were bare before the world. She hadn’t understood then, and wasn’t any closer to an answer now.

They were no medical texts in the Domain on the other races, and she hadn’t found the time to buy one during her visit to Hyrule Castle. No, that wasn’t true. She had been too ashamed to make such a purchase. Mipha slid her fingers down to the apex of her legs, testing. A soft press drew another soft sigh from her lips, but also confirmed she wasn’t ready. The Zora Princess shouldn’t have felt shame over a medical book. She was a healer. But healing wasn’t why she had wanted it. She wanted -- needed to know what Link looked like under his clothing.

He was just so different from her, from the men of her race. Everything about him was simultaneously alien and fascinating. Surely he would be nothing like diagrams of Zora males. Mipha braced herself against the wall, and pressed a palm hard against her armored belly, raking her claws up to her chest. She let out a low groan as her actions lit a fire within her.

Link had never been that rough with her before. He was always the one to initiate the exploration of their bodies, and he was always gentle. His tenderness was sweet, but often frustrated Mipha to no end. She surprised him during his last visit, before the Champions’ Ceremony. She had pinned him to one of the rocks in Lulu Lake, capturing his mouth with a ferocity that made him go limp in her arms.

The stunned expression on Link’s face made her think she’d gone too far, but before she could apologize for her brazen behavior, he pulled her flush against him. Mipha dragged her nails back down her body, only lessening the pressure when her hand returned between her thighs. Satisfied with the warmth and moisture she found, the Champion slipped two fingers inside, and started a slow rhythm. She had almost seen Link that day.

When she felt his arousal brush against her hips, she asked to see him, to touch him. Link gave her a confident smile and reached to unbuckle his belt. The bright red of his cheeks, however, betrayed his embarrassment. Mipha had bitten her lip to suppress the frustrated noise that rose in her throat when she saw he had yet _another_ barrier of cloth under his trousers. The young woman must have done a poor job of hiding her disappointment, because Link scolded her impatience as he slipped his thumbs into the waistband of his underclothes.

But then he stopped, tilting his head to the side, as if he had heard something. Then Mipha heard it too; the telltale sounds of a Zora making their way up a waterfall. The realization left them scrambling to find their weapons, and make like they had been sparring the whole time. That night had been… frustrating, to say the least.

Mipha shifted uncomfortably against the stone wall, trying to find the best angle to press deeper into herself. This was less pleasurable than when it was done in the water. And yet, she could already feel a tension coiling low in her stomach. And she hadn’t even made for the bundle of nerves nestled along her inner walls.

She couldn’t help Link’s name from passing her lips as she slid to the floor, coming to rest on her side. Careful of her claws, she increased the tempo of her hand's movements. Princess Zelda would arrive within the week to inspect Vah Ruta, and thus, so would Link. Mipha had big plans for lover's time in the Domain. She needed to measure him for his armor, and still needed to see him. She would kill two birds with one stone, as the Hylian saying went. The Champion knew that her obsession with her lover’s member was immature, but she couldn’t help herself. It was such a captivating mystery. A mystery she had every intention of unraveling.

Her breathing was ragged now, and she could feel herself nearing release. Mipha curled her fingers to reach the place inside herself where the texture of her walls changed from smooth to ridged. It only took a few passings over the sensitive nerves to send her over the edge. A long, low growl resonated deep in her chest as her muscles tightened around her fingers. Mipha bit into the red of her free arm in an attempt to keep herself grounded. Her climax always made her body overly sensitive. It was to the point that even the small, shallow movements of her hand were almost painful. Yet, just like every time before, some primal instinct screamed at her not to stop. Not until her muscles stopped their contractions, and finally released their death grip on her tired digits.

Mipha rolled onto her stomach, and buried her face in her forearms. She hummed contentedly to herself, reveling in the relaxed state of her body as she came down from her high. She didn't get to enjoy the feeling for long however, as the ground around her shook briefly, and a sensation of sudden and intense emotion overwhelmed her mind.

**Impatience.**

It took the Champion's lust-addled brain a moment to comprehend what was going on, and where this sudden emotion came from.

 _Ruta_ , she realized in a daze.

The Divine Beast had finished its patrol route, and was in need of further orders.

 _Return to the East Reservoir Lake_ , Mipha instructed her partner.

The Beast however, remained rooted to the spot.

 **Annoyance**.

Was it disobeying her? No, it wanted to move, that much she could sense. The Princess rose, unsteadily, to her feet. When she crossed the room to place a hand on the control panel, Mipha realized just how faint the connection between her and Ruta had been mere moments ago.

 _I'm sorry_ , she told her Beast, coming to the conclusion it had withdrawn from her mind when she -- _return the Reservoir,_ she ordered.

**Acceptance. Glee.**

"It won't happen again," she promised aloud.

**Bemusement…**

_It was disrespectful of me to think my actions wouldn't bother you_ , she tried to explain.

**Amusement. Indifference.**

It seemed Vah Ruta neither understood, or cared about its Champion's depravity. However, that knowledge did nothing to quell the guilt Mipha felt.

**Moving. Happiness.**

Mipha sighed, deciding to drop the matter. She cleaned herself, and donned her jewelry. When she tried to wrap her sash around herself, it caught on her chest. Confused, she reached to remove the obstruction. Mipha frowned at the offending white scale resting in her palm.

 _Only five left. Ruta, please make haste to the Reservoir,_ Mipha commanded, carefully tucking her supplies under the pile of cushions.

She needed to swim and be alone with her thoughts for awhile. Sidon would be released from his morning lessons with Muzu by midday, and she had promised to show him the proper stances for spearplay. There wasn’t anymore progress she could make with her engagement gift until she could take Link’s measurements, so there wasn’t any harm in putting it aside for the day.

  
_Just one more week. Jabu-Jabu preserve me, and give me the strength to see my plan through to the end_ , Mipha beseeched the Great Fish.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I post this as a multi chapter fic for two reasons; One, I want to try and post something once a month, and I'm impatient to get this out there. Two, This story is running longer than I thought it would, and I haven't even made it to the sex scene propper.
> 
> The second chapter should be up by the end of this month (June). If it's not, feel to free to beat me for my failure to you.
> 
> Okay, so when I wrote the section where Mipha starts hunting for loose scales on her body, I hadn't originally intended for it to be sexual. At most, it would trick the reader into thinking that's where I was going with the scene as I tried to flesh out Zora biology. 
> 
> JUST WHAT IS THE WHITE SCALE?! Bah! I decided to give white scales an evolutionary explanation, and make them cover the female's whole torso. I just didn't know what else to do with the super vague description we get in game.  
> "Only females have the White Scale," Thanks Nintendo, that's super helpful.  
> It's funny, I almost never see the white scale brought up in fanfics. It seems most people don't know what to make of it either.
> 
> But I digress. Where was I? Oh yeah, masturbation. It just ended up flowing really well, and it helped me flesh out how close and comfortable Link and Mipha are with each other.
> 
> So, her obsession with Link's penis. She's a horney teenager (by Zora age standards), and has boyfriend whose body she knows next to nothing about. I feel like it's only natural for curiosity to eat away at her like that.
> 
> This is my first smut. Please leave a comment, and let me know how I did. I hope to see you around for chapter two.
> 
> Goodnight, and have a wonderful tomorrow.


	2. The Great Frog Hunt

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, I know I said two chapters, but smut is really hard to write. I'm so close to the finish line, but still have hours of work ahead of me.
> 
> Since my self imposed deadline is here, enjoy some wholesome fluff while I polish off the naughty bits.

“Incredible. Not even Chief Urbosa has mastered the autonomous controls of Vah Naboris yet,” the Hylian Princess praised in a less than excited tone.

“I wouldn’t say I’ve mastered them either, Princess,” Mipha replied with the reserved voice of an ambassador. “My control over the Divine Beast often slips. Especially if my mind wanders too far from the task at hand,” she explained.

They were standing in the belly of the Beast, just below the giant gears that were theorized to propel Ruta’s motion over land and through water. Princess Zelda was staring at the gears in wonder, while Mipha transfixed her with a confused stare. The young Hylian had been ecstatic the last time she worked with the Champion on Ruta, but now she seemed frustrated and withdrawn. Mipha looked briefly to Link, who was standing by the far door, for a possible answer. The knight simply shook his head. She would have to ask him in private later on.

“What happens when you lose control?” The other princess was looking at her now, and judging from the slight frown she wore, had seen Mipha staring at the other Champion instead of focusing.

“Oh, well, Ruta finishes the last order I gave it, if possible, then waits impatiently for further instructions,” she explained, making a point of looking Zelda in the eyes as she spoke.

That seemed to pique Zelda’s interest. “What do you mean by, ‘impatiently’?”

“Ah, it… demands action. My Divine Beast does not like to idle for very long. I can’t say I blame it though, I would be equally reluctant to sit still if I had spent ten thousand years trapped beneath the East Reservoir.”

“I see.” The Hylian Princess opened her notebook, and jotted something down. “How does Vah Ruta make its wants known? Does it speak to you? Urbosa has stated that Vah Naboris shows her mental images, is your experience similar?”

“No. The only time I’ve been sent images is when my Beast spots monsters it wishes to slay. I… I feel its wants. It’s hard to explain, and I don’t fully understand it myself. Sometimes I guess wrong, and although Vah Ruta will follow my instructions, it lets its anger be known," she explained, hoping to wrap this up soon.

Zelda had insisted on visiting every section of Mipha’s Divine Beast to run diagnostics with the Sheikah Slate. The process had taken well over two hours, and the Zora Champion was beginning to grow restless. Link was starting to look equally bothered. He was shifting his weight, and looking from Mipha to the door, to Mipha, and then back again. She had made it clear in her last letter to him that she wished to spend time alone together. The feeling seemed to be mutual.

_ I wonder if he made plans for tonight as well _ , she wondered absentmindedly.

Oh, she’d completely missed Zelda’s last question.

“I said, what kinds of wants does Vah Ruta normally convey to you?”

“Oh, uh, simple things. Like movement, battle, rain, boredom, contentment, movement again. My Beast really does enjoy exploring the Lanayru Province. Be it along the mountains, or under the water’s surface.”

“I see, let me just write that down… Wait, did you say boredom? It can feel emotions? That’s incredible. Boredom is such a mortal emotion too. Just what went into the making of the Divine Beasts?”

Zelda clearly wasn’t expecting an answer, as she went back to watching the gears turn, so Mipha said nothing. She was trying really hard not to stare at Link. Really, she was. When Zelda caught Mipha staring at her knight for the third time in ten minutes, she asked to have a word with the Zora Princess in private. Her excuse had been something along the lines of wanting to understand the depth of emotions Ruta had shown its pilot.

“I have a favor to ask you, Lady Mipha,” Zelda said with a frown.

“What might that be, Princess?” Mipha was confused by the sudden request.

“Can you… I don’t know, do something with him? Far away from me if possible. That would be preferable, actually. Ever since the King appointed him as my Knight-Protector, he’s been my constant shadow, following me around like a mother hen. I can’t,” Zelda groaned, rubbing her face, “I need space is all.”

“Oh.” It took all of Mipha’s courtroom experience to hide her excitement from Zelda. “I suppose I can arrange something. I don’t have any commitments that need my attention for the rest of the day.” She had made damn sure of that.

“How soon can you arrange something?” Zelda made no attempt to hide her eagerness.

“Hmm. As soon as we finish up here. It’s been awhile since he and I last trained together, and I don’t imagine that his fellow knights can keep up with him like I, and the other Champions can. It shouldn’t be too hard to convince him to travel to one of the nearby lakes.” It was only a half lie, she told herself.

Princess Zelda sighed, “Thank you, Lady Mipha. Um, how long do you think you can keep him busy?”

_ The rest of the day and half the night _ , “Oh, a few hours at the very least. A lot has happened in the Domain lately. I’m sure he’ll want to know how his other friends here are doing.”

Satisfied with the Champion’s answer, Zelda led the way out of Ruta. When his charge’s back was to him, Link quirked an eyebrow at Mipha.

She gently squeezed his arm. “I just bought us a day’s worth of free time,” she said, smiling shyly.

Mipha released him, and watched with pleasant surprise as his the corner of his mouth twitched up. Even his smallest smile was radiant. The moment was short lived, however, for it faded as Link looked to the Hylian Princess and made to follow her. There was a troubled question on his face when he turned to see if Mipha was coming as well.

“I’ll see to it that she is well guarded,” she assured him.

The knight sighed and nodded, quickening his pace to catch up with his charge. Mipha couldn’t help but wonder if Zelda was the root cause of Link’s drastic change in demeanor. Another question for when they were alone.   
  


-oOo-   
  


It was midday by the time the trio returned to Zora’s Domain. Princess Zelda dismissed Link from his duties, telling him she wished to eat lunch alone. She then asked Mipha if she could arrange for a guide to take her to the shrines that surrounded the Domain.

"Yes, I'm sure Bazz would be happy to show you the nearby areas," Mipha agreed, neglecting to mention Bazz was a skilled knight.

The Zora Princess was starting to piece together the idea that the other royal did not like being heavily guarded. Mipha also knew that by dropping the name of their mutual friend, she had satisfied Link's wish that Zelda be well looked after.

"Excellent, thank you." With that, Zelda wished the Champions farewell, and quickly made for the guest chambers.

Mipha turned her head to look up at Link. "You know, Bazz is rising rather quickly through the Royal Guard’s ranks. I expect him to make captain in the next few years."

Link mouthed his old friend's name, brows raised in question.

“It’s kind of funny when I think back to all the trouble he and his little brigade got into,” she said, leading the way to the central plaza. “I never would have imagined any of them could manage the discipline needed to be knights of Zora’s Domain.”

Link huffed at that, crossing his arms in mild offence. Mipha shook her head at him. She knew full well he had been a part of Bazz’s little gang of misfits. Well, maybe misfits wasn’t the right word. They were all the children of accomplished knights. Link included. He continued to stare hard at her as they came to a stop by the staircase leading to the upper section of the Domain.

“Oh, fine,” she relented. “I suppose it took some discipline to coordinate the release of that many frogs into the Seabed Inn.” Mipha turned to face the inn in question, then looked over her shoulder at Link, “And I suppose it was funny too. Although Ira still holds it against you guys.”

Link shook his head, “Eight years,” he said in a whisper.

Mipha frowned slightly. He almost never spoke at a normal volume, if he spoke at all. Even when it was just the two of them. Link’s voice, just like his smile, seemed to be fading from this world. It broke the Zora Princess’ heart. He had been such a boisterous child. What had happened to him in the years they had been apart?

Mipha turned her frown into a small smile. “Well, one of those frogs did end up in a patron's soup.” She turned to face him fully. “Are you okay Link? Do… do you still wish to spar with me later today?”

Link blinked once, as if confused, then nodded vigorously. He must have thought it strange of her to think he wasn’t, and didn’t. Mipha was about to explain herself when something barreled into her legs, knocking her off balance, and nearly sent her crashing to the stone floor. It was only by the grace of the Great Fish that the Champion was able to catch her weight on the butt of her trident, pinning the weapon's shaft between her upper body and the ground.

"Sister," came the revenant whisper.

Then louder, "You didn't come to dinner last night, and you didn't have breakfast with us either! I thought that Beasty might've ate you."

Mipha looked down to see her brother staring at her with puzzled relief.

"I'm sorry to have worried you. I had to make preparations for the arrival of Princess Zelda."

Namely making her work station in the control room vanish without a trace.

"And," she said, gently prying Sidon from her leg, "you don't have to worry about Ruta eating me. It may be a giant, but Ruta is a gentle beast."

"Will you eat lunch with me?" The little prince pleaded, bouncing on the balls of his feet.

"I would love to. Is it alright if our guest joins us? You remember Link, right?" Mipha gestured to the knight in question.

Sidon followed the line of his sister's outstretched hand, and frowned. The little prince wrapped both arms around Mipha's left leg, placing the limb between himself and Link.

"Mine. You can't have 'er!"

Link's hand flew to his mouth, clearly struggling to keep his composure.

Mipha choked on air before stuttering out, "S-Sidon! Champion Link is a guest of our father and the council, you mustn't be rude!"

Sidon flinched at his sister's scolding. He buried his face into her thigh, murmuring an apology.

Mipha once again pried her little brother off her leg, but this time she knelt down to meet him at eye level. Sidon kept his face downcast, clearly ashamed.

Placing the Lightscale Trident on the ground beside her, she spoke gently to him. "I'm sorry I snapped at you Sidon."

Mipha cupped her hand on his right cheek, turning his head up to meet her gaze, "Tell me now, little one, what's this about?"

"Is just," he said, his voice almost as quiet as Link's, "every time the swordsman comes, he takes you away from me."

"Oh," Mipha felt a pang of guilt when she saw Sidon's crestfallen expression.

She rubbed her thumb in circles on his cheek in an attempt to comfort him. The Zora Champion realized in that moment that Link had yet to spend any real time with her brother. Given the activities she and Link got up to, she had never thought to invite Sidon to join them.

_ A grave oversight, it seems _ .  _ I should have planned something for the three of us before now, _ she thought as Sidon relaxed into her touch.

"And," the boy went on, clearly regaining his confidence, "Teacher says the last time the swordsman took you away, you fought a lin-el with shocked arrows!"

Sidon was bouncing up and down now, fists balled up in front of him, having broken away from his sister's touch.

"He says--Teacher says," the prince stumbled a bit over his words, "Teach says he's a bad--a bad… um… a bad in-something."

He had stopped his bouncing, and was scratching his chin thoughtfully.

"Influence," whispered the accused as he knelt beside Mipha.

"Yeah, that!" Sidon proclaimed with a grin as he turned to Link.

It took the young child a moment to realize that he was now addressing the "dreaded" swordsman. When he did, his smile faded, and he hid shyly behind Mipha's arm.

"What's an in-flu-ence?" he whispered rather loudly into her ear.

Mipha made an amused sound before she turned to whisper equally loud in his ear, "It means to convince someone to do something."

"Now listen well," she began in a soft but stern tone, "I would have had to deal with that lynel at some point. It's for the best that Link had been there to lead the charge against it."

"Why?" Sidon said, now taking the time to consider Link's face.

"Electricity is deadly to us Zoras--"

"Everyone knows that!" he said, cutting her off, "That's why Teacher got so mad!"

Mipha smiled fondly, "But what most don't know is that Hylians have a secret power."

"Secret power?" he stared at Link in awe for a moment. "Tell me!" he begged.

Mipha looked around conspiratorially, before whispering --properly this time-- into the young prince's ear.

"They can be hit directly with shock weapons, and live."

" _ Noooo, _ " Sidon breathed in awe.

"Yes," she confirmed. "Sidon, Link is a good man. Master Muzu," she picked her next words very carefully, "doesn't know him like I do. We grew up together."

She looked to Link,  _ her _ Link. A small smile graced his lips as he watched the exchange. It wasn't any larger than the one he had briefly worn in Ruta, but when it was combined with the look of content in his eyes… her heart stopped briefly. Mipha couldn’t have been more confident in her choice than she was in that moment. Still, there was a slight problem that needed to be nipped in the bud.

“You know,” she began, turning back to face her brother, “Link is actually a lot of fun. Why, I bet he could catch more frogs than you.”

Sidon took a deep breath then whipped around to face Link, pointing a finger at the knight as if he had issued the Zora Prince a direct challenge.

“CAN NOT!” he shouted, drawing attention from a passer by, “I’m the bestest frog catcher in all of Lannyure!”

Sidon brought a hand to his chest with a thumbs up, flashing his small, yet deadly teeth in a wide grin. The passing Zora stopped dead in her tracks to observe the scene before her.

“Not even The Big Bad Bazz can beat me!”

Link scooted closer to the shouting child so they were face to face, “Prove it,” he challenged quietly.

Sidon looked like he was about to explode with excitement. He was bouncing up and down again, but then stopped, as if he had just remembered something.

“I’m sorry, I can’t for awhile. I have lessons, and I still gotta eat lunch,” he turned to his sister, “You do too!” he said, pointing, “Dad says if we want to be big like ‘em, we can’t be missin’ meals.”

Mipha didn’t need to be reminded of her father’s meal time mantra. Food wasn’t the key to his great size. No, that was hormones triggered by his social status. True,  Dorephan did need to consume a terrifying amount of protein to support his great stature, but the threat that Mipha and Sidon would stay small forever was just a ploy to make his fussy children eat whatever was on their plates. Mipha herself had long grown past the age where this was necessary, but she still had the pleasure of hearing it whenever Sidon was in a mood at the table.

Mipha picked up her trident, and rose from the ground. She stretched briefly to regain the feeling in her legs after kneeling for so long. The one Zora who had stopped to witness the exchange between the three of them was still rooted to her spot, eyeing her princess meaningfully.

_ Gaddison. Off duty. Hmm… Hopefully nothing’s gone wrong with our arrangement, _ Mipha thought briefly.

The Zora Princess addressed her brother while maintaining eye contact with her friend. “I’ll make you a deal, Little Brother. If you can help Link carry two pots, and whatever he may need to Ralis Pond, I’ll have Master Muzu excuse you from the rest of your classes today.”

“DONE!” Sidon shouted, once again attaching himself to her leg. This time however, he removed himself. “I know where to get the best pots for frogs!”

With that, the Zora Prince snatched Link’s wrist, pulling him forward with a strength the knight had not been expecting. Link cast a brief glance at Mipha over his shoulder as he stumbled after Sidon. Once they had disappeared from sight, Gaddison made her way into the small chamber that held a shrine to the Sheikah monk Ne’ez Yohma.

Mipha followed the violet colored woman. She was half a decade younger, but was already going through her last growth spurt, and was well on her way to knighthood. Gaddison was half a head taller than Mipha, and that irked her from time to time. The Champion honestly felt like half the Domain was outgrowing her! The Princess couldn’t help but feel frustrated that her body was taking so long to reach its adult height.

Once the pair were convinced they were alone, Gaddison spoke rather cheerily, “You’re going to have to keep an eye on that brother of yours when he hits his second spurt.”

“Oh, I’m well aware of that,” Mipha regarded her friend curiously. “Why do you mention it?”

Gaddison laughed a little, “You missed the funniest thing while you were off attending to your Champion business last night.” The young Zora clasped her hands together. “Okay, so you know Tona and Tula, right?”

Mipha nodded, leaning against the dormant shrine.

“Well, the two were fighting over which one would get to play with the Prince. All the while, poor little Clef is trying to remind them they didn’t have to time be fighting over who plays what with who. When Prince Sidon finally heard the other boy’s reasoning, he agreed wholeheartedly, and asked Clef what he wanted to do.”

Gaddison brought a hand to her mouth to stifle a laugh, “The look on the girls’ faces when he said spear practice, and ran off with your brother… Mipha, you’ve never seen defeat like it!”

"Barely able to breathe air, and he's already breaking hearts," Mipha said, shaking her head fondly. "The next decade can't pass slowly enough."

Gaddison moved to lean her right shoulder against the shrine.

She looked the Princess dead in the eyes. "I know, right? Gives you plenty of time to shape up as proper role model on how to treat lovers," she teased.

"What--what is that supposed to mean?" Mipha asked in an even tone.

The violet Zora looked to the chamber entrance, checking to make sure the coast was still clear. "You don't get to play innocent with me. Not when you asked me to cover your tracks."

Gaddison locked her eyes on the entrance as she went on, voice lowering to a harsh whisper, "You don't even have the decency to dress our poor Hylian before dragging him off to the corals."

The young guard turned her head back to face Mipha, who was now blushing profusely, with a wry grin. The Champion had never realized how interesting her own feet were before that moment. She opened her mouth briefly, but then snapped it shut. She couldn't say anything in her defense without giving away the full extent of her plans.

_ Maybe I should just come clean? This is Gaddison after all… not like she'll run off and tell anyone _ , Mipha thought miserably.

The Princess had enlisted the help of her younger friend to make sure her night with Link would go undisturbed. However, she hadn't intended to reveal her exact intentions to Gaddison. Mipha had simply asked her to keep people from coming to the Reservoir that night, as she would be running maintenance on Vah Ruta, and the area wouldn't be safe as a result.

Gaddison was quick as a whip, and didn't believe Mipha's explanation for a second. One awkward conversation later, and the young women had come to an agreement. Gaddison would keep people away from the dam during her shift, and in return Mipha would provide her with details.

"Don't look so glum, Princess. I'm just giving you a hard time," Gaddison said, lightly punching Mipha in the arm. “You know, I’m actually a little jealous.”

The Princess finally tore her gaze from her feet to her look at her friend, tilting her head to the side.

Gaddison raised one hand up in a passive gesture, “Don’t get me wrong, I’m not jealous of you for having your way with Link. He’s a great guy and all, but… Hylians are just too weird. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to understand that fetish--”

“I do not have a fetish!” Mipha snapped quietly.

The violet guard threw both her hands up in surrender, quickly saying, “Of course you don’t! I’m just saying. Some people do, ya know?”

Mipha’s eyelid twitched in mild irritation as she recalled the exact terms of their deal. “Didn’t you ask me to describe his… his…” she took a deep breath, forcing herself to finish her sentence, “his penis to you. If you think Hylians are that unattractive, then why?” Mipha was genuinely confused by this revelation.

Gaddison let her hands fall to her sides. The Princess was slow to anger, and did a good job of hiding any poor mood she might be in. To see her snap, even quietly, was an experience she didn’t know how to handle.

“Morbid curiosity,” she answered simply, shrugging her shoulders. "Anyways, the reason I'm jealous is 'cause it feels like I'm the only one I know that hasn't managed to net some tail yet."

"Bazz finally found someone?"

Gaddison waved off the question, "Bazz doesn't count. The man's married to his career. Truth be told, I don't think he's quite gotten over you turning him down."

"Oh," Mipha said, scratching the back of her head, where her headtail began, "and here I was excited for him. I actually thought he took it pretty well."

"Bah! He took it better than most of your suitors, but it still stung for awhile," Gaddison said, rolling her head to the side, her neck making a slight popping sound.

Despite only being in her late sixties, Mipha already had to deal with a number of suitors. Most from around Zora's Domain, some of which were old friends. Others were the sons of council members. Others still had been suggested to her by her mother when she went to visit her kingdom in the Necludian Sea.

She had turned them all down as politely as she could. Most of them wanted her hand because of her status, but there were those, like Bazz, who admired her for the qualities she held as a person, a healer, and a fighter. They were all good men, but she hadn't been ready for courtship when they asked. 

Then Link came back. He hadn't asked to court her like the others did. Things just happened, and grew quickly from there.

_ No, I suppose he did ask, in his own way. _

Link had asked if he could make Mipha her favorite meal. She hadn't really known what to tell him. Her diet was mostly fish, wish she preferred raw. Not all Zoras liked to eat their fish raw, but it wasn’t an uncommon practice. It saved time, and many thought cooking fish ruined the flavor. Mipha did remember a time when she had bought hard boiled cucco eggs from a Sheikah merchant. They were delicious, so she told Link that’s what she wanted. He thought for a minute, smirked, and told her he could make something better. That was the day Mipha discovered deviled eggs.

Ever since then, Link had cooked her a different dish each time he came to visit. He had also confessed that she was the only one aside from Zelda who he cooked for regularly. Although he only did so when he grew sick of their preserved rations during their travels. Cooking was personal to Link, something he did to calm his nerves. He had only let Zelda cook for them once. The Hylian Princess could brew elixirs that could relieve pain, restore energy, and even make one temporarily stronger. Thinking that her skill with elixirs would translate even a little bit to cooking had been a disastrous mistake. A mistake that Link said, rather sheepishly, he would never make again. Nor would he ever confess to Zelda that she was an awful cook.

“--incess. Lady Mipha? Heellloo?” Gaddison’s voice and waving hand snapped Mipha back to the present. “Oh, good! I thought I lost you there for a minute.”

“I-I’m sorry, I was just… reminiscing,” Mipha murmured distractedly.

“Jabu-Jabu, you’ve got it bad!” Gaddison laughed. “Try not to come off as too desperate, okay? Now get out of here--” she made a shooing gesture with both hands-- “you’ve got a contest to referee.”

She began pushing the Princess to the stairs when a thought occurred to her, "Who do you think will win?"

"I don't know," came the honest reply. "Link has a size advantage, but Sidon can see clearly under water, and they're both very tenacious in their own right."

 

-oOo-   
  


Mipha had been right not to declare a clear winner before the competition started. Her brother was using his small size to his advantage. Sidon was just small enough to swim in the shallow water of Ralis Pond, and was darting to snatch the frogs Link scared from their lilly pads as he trudged through knee deep water. The score was eight to six in Sidon’s favor.

Link was closing in on a tireless frog near the edge of the pond, moving slowly, and approaching from an angle. Sadly, the tactics of an experienced hunter meant nothing to the will of a child. Sidon was making a beeline for Link’s target, swimming as fast as he could in the limited space of the pond. The poor frog realized what was coming his way, and made a frantic dash away from the water’s edge. The Hylian seized his opportunity, and launched himself after the frog at full speed. He had the advantage on land, being able to outrun even adult Zoras with ease. This fact was unknown to the child leaping from the surface of the pond. Sidon managed to get a good five feet up the shore with his jump, but it was no use. This frog was Link’s.

The sight of Link catching the frog in one hand and racing it to his pot did nothing to deter the young prince. Sidon turned on his heel, stumbling on his little legs, and dashed back to the pond, no doubt already homing in on his next target.

Link gave Mipha a bewildered look, breathing heavily as he dropped his prize into the mouth of a fish shaped pot. The Master Sword had been placed reverently on his folded Champion’s tunic, which was resting next to the noisy pots along with his boots and rucksack.

She simply shrugged from her perch on the rock formation that shielded the east side of Ralis Pond. “He has enough energy to fuel a thousand suns. You better get back out there if you want to win, time is almost up,” she said, shooing him away with one hand.

Mipha had set a time limit of thirty minutes for the game, and a score limit of ten frogs. Time was nearly up, and Link was still one point below Sidon. Although hour glasses and those new clock things were almost unheard of in Zora’s Domain, the Princess still had a good sense of the time. Her people used the position of the sun, and the height of the tides to keep track of the hour. It wasn’t an exact science, but they managed a high level of accuracy that surprised most foreigners.

_ Hmm... I wonder if they can make clocks from the same metal we use to protect our letters from water damage. It would make life easier on visitors, and almost certainly excite my generation. I’ll have to look into it. The elders will take some convincing though _ , Mipha contemplated as she watched Link jog to the center of the pond.

He really should have been heading back to the edge, so he could capture the frogs her brother’s splashing was stirring up. The Zora woman rested her head on her hand. Link could be smart when he put his mind to it, but he rarely used his wits for anything other than puzzles and fighting. She wasn’t entirely sure why her lover hadn’t noticed his opponent’s weakness and exploited it yet. Maybe the knight was going easy on Sidon because he was a child. Or maybe it was just his stubbornness. Link had always preferred to face every challenge head on.

_ Oh, oh! That’s why he’s headed there! _

Sidon was chasing two frogs directly towards the rock face. Link caught one as it all but crashed into his leg, and dove after the other that darted off to his right. He grabbed it by one of its legs, barely managing to keep hold of both animals as he floundered about in the water, trying to regain his footing without hurting them. The knight made a mad dash back to his pot, not even bothering to look back at the stunned prince, who had been mere inches away from nabbing his now stolen prey.

The poor man was soaked from head to toe, but bore a look of determination. He might have appeared fierce, were it not for the large twig sticking out of his hair at an angle, and the water moss littering his body and face. He looked like a child dressed up to play pretend lizalfos.

"Still got one!" Sidon declared, running up to his pot, holding a resigned looking hot-footed frog in outstretched arms.

"You're both tied at nine," Mipha informed him as he dropped the deadpan amphibian in with its confused brethren.

Her brother cast a steely glance at the Hylian knight he was battling. “You can’t beat me!” he declared.

“Can too,” came the quiet and surprisingly childish rebuttal.

“WANNA BET ON IT?!”

Link nodded, his expression never changing.

“Winner gets Mipha for the rest of the day!” he shouted, pointing up to his sister.

“Done.”

“Now wait a--” and they were already running off again. Mipha sighed. This… was going to be interesting.

Link ran like a demon possessed to the edge of Ralis Pond, knowing full well that most of its inhabitants would have hopped for the hills by now.

Sidon made to dive back into the pond’s center, but misjudged its depth, belly flopping into the mud beneath the surface. This minor setback didn’t slow him down for long however, as he crawled the last couple feet to a depth were he could swim again.

Mipha wasn’t sure who she should root for-- if she should root for either one at all. Sidon was swimming from lily pad to lily pad as fast as he could. Link was quietly stalking edges of the pond, twig still stuck in his hair. He seemed to be closing in on something. Sidon was splashing madly on the opposite side of the pond. He looked a little panicked.

Link crouched briefly, facing away from the water, coiling the muscles in his legs before he launched himself at a patch of tall grass. He landed on his hands and knees, clearly pinning something with his left hand. Mipha tilted her head to the side in appreciation. Her lover had managed to catch something near her rock, unintentionally giving his fellow Champion a clear view of his backside. His trousers were wet and clung tightly to his skin, hinting at the lean, powerful muscles hidden by that damnable cloth. 

Most humans had unattractive rears, made plump by fat or thick muscle. Not Link. His tailless end was taut, constructed from the same lean strength she had felt in his arms whenever he parried a blow from her trident. His legs were equally strong. She knew for a fact he could deliver a kick to rival a hinox. Admittedly, they were oddly long compared to a Zora’s, but they gave him a speed and grace over land Mipha could never hope to match.

_ I’ll be measuring him for the leggings first _ , she decided, feeling a blush creep up her face.

Link stood quickly, turning, shocked frog in hand, to find Mipha red in the face, staring at the space his ass had been previously occupying. He looked to where Sidon was still hunting for a target. The knight quickly, yet quietly closed the distance between them. He gently dropped the game winning animal into his pot, then climbed the boulder  _ his _ woman was sitting on.

He settled on his knees, barely leaving an inch between them. He cast one last look to where Sidon was hunting. The child’s back was to them, blissfully unaware of his defeat. Then Link’s lips were on hers, gentle and brief. It wasn’t nearly enough for her. Mipha grabbed the back of his head, pulling his mouth back to hers for a languid kiss, dimly aware of the twig poking her as their foreheads met.

“I’ve missed you,” she murmured against his lips.

Link hummed happily in response, nuzzling the side of her head.

“You have a twi--”

“You won?!”

_ Jabu--Caught! _ Mipha swore inwardly, immediately scolding herself for her mental blasphemy. To speak only half of the Great Fish’s name was grave insult to the water spirit.

Her little brother was wading up to them, empty-handed and looking crushed. Link hopped down and met Sidon halfway, kneeling in the water in front of him. Mipha followed slowly behind, wondering just how she was going to convince him not to tell his friends about what he just saw. 

The little prince was on the verge of tears, but held out his hand in offering to Link.

“Good f’ob,” he sniffled when his opponent accepted the handshake.

Mipha couldn’t hold back a small, pained sound at the sight. She was simultaneously proud and heartbroken.

She was about to say something to make him feel better, but Link beat her to it. “I’ll share,” he said, looking over his shoulder at the Princess.

The look of hope on Sidon’s face was priceless. “Really?”

The knight nodded, and was nearly thrown back into the water by the force of the tiny Zora’s hug. Link wrapped his arms around Sidon, holding him against his chest.

The small child rested his chin on Link’s shoulder, and looked to his big sister, “You were right Sister, he’s not a bad ina-inaflu… he’s a good people.” A thought seemed to occur to him, and he lifted his head to address Link, “What were ya whispering about?”

“Oh, Link was just telling me that he wanted to make lunch for us,” Mipha lied, knowing it wasn’t her lover’s forte. She didn’t like it much herself, but politics had a way of stripping such morals from the individual.

Link gave her a knowing look, rising from the water with Sidon still in his arms. He walked over to his belongings, set the Prince down, and dug through his bag. He pulled out a long, thick bundle that was wrapped in chilled paper; a Rito specialty made with white chu jelly. Mipha could tell from the size and shape that the package held fish. Link opened the paper slightly to show the contents to Sidon. Mipha could smell it clearly, despite the five or so feet that separated her from the fish. The scent was incredible, and although she couldn’t place it, seemed incredibly familiar. The Zora woman moved to take a closer look. It was harder to track and distinguish scents in the air than it was in the water, but every fish had a distinct scent. She knew every species that lived in Lanayru by smell alone. Being unable to place a name to the wonderful odor invading her senses was highly annoying. 

Then both Zoras saw-- “Hearty salmon!” they exclaimed together, Mipha’s voice nearly drowned out by Sidon’s.

Hearty salmon could only be found in Hebra, and in only a select few streams and lakes. They were a delicacy all across Hyrule, but nowhere was the demand greater than in Zora’s Domain. A Rito merchant could make a fortune off the aquatic race alone. Especially since the King enacted strict laws protecting the populations of hearty salmon, driving the prices wildly high. King  Dorephan did not believe in wasting the taxpayers’ money on luxuries, so his children had only ever eaten a handful of salmon throughout their lives.

Mipha swallowed the saliva that had been building since laying eyes on the salmon. “Wha-what are you going to make with that?”


	3. Measurements

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As you peruse the vast and crumbling library, you hear the heavy thuds of hooves on stone, and the creaking of wheels.
> 
> You turn, worried about what strange creature approaches you now. Very few things in this wonderous place meant you true harm, but you have still been witness to things that can never be unseen.
> 
> Before you stands an overweight minotaur, brown in color and pitful in stature. Wrapped over its shoulders are thick, leather ropes attached to a wooden cart filled with all manner of books and scrolls. It must work here. An author, perhaps?
> 
> It drops the chains that bind it to its burden and strides clumsily towards you, bumping into a table and knocking over a pile of books. It pulls, from a satchel on its waist, a thick pile of crumpled papers and shoves them in your face.
> 
> "Take it," it begs.
> 
> You humor the beast, which is clearly an author, and examine its story. It's the third chapter of a smutty fanfiction you've seen around the great archive. A smut that has taken three months now to reach its completion. Its pages are covered in dark red stains.
> 
> "Is this blood?" you gasp, horrified.
> 
> "Nah," the bull-headed beast assures you. "It's ketchup. I was eating nuggies while writing that bit and uh, mistakes were made."
> 
> "Um, okay, thanks. I've actually been waiting for this update." It was true. Although you enjoyed the fluff of chapter two, it had left you unsatisfied, and wanting for the conclusion. Smut for this paring was few and far between.
> 
> "So," you begin, annoyed. "Why are you writing this intro instead of editing chapter three?"
> 
> The minotaur, an irreverent and balless foul, judging from its chosen name, slumped against the bookshelf you had been searching through earlier, and slid to the ground.
> 
> "I liked the idea and my editor is napping right now," it said, gently poking a seahorse that lay curled up next gay erotica on the very bottom shelf.
> 
> This was getting stranger by the minute. You decide to leave before this prologue turns into something existential. Waving half-heartedly at the strange ox-creature, you turn and rush off with the third chapter, happy to finally see the end.

_\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------_

 

 

 _Salmon meuniere_ , the Zora Champion decided. _Is my favorite meal._

Hearty salmon was a fatty breed of fish. When lightly covered in butter, powdered with wheat, and put to the flame, it practically melted in the mouth. She was not proud of the sounds that escaped her whenever she took a bite. Even Sidon hadn’t given a word of complaint, and he hated cooked fish. Mipha had never seen Link look as smug as he did in the moment her brother’s face turned from skeptical to enraptured.

Mipha sighed into Link’s neck, causing him to shudder. She lay now, floating on her back, supporting her lover’s weight in the water, an arm’s distance from the space where dock met dam. It had taken quite some time to separate themselves from her brother and make their way to the Reservoir. Now they were finally, _finally_ alone.

The sun had set a little over an hour ago, and the moon was starting His patrol over the sky, to push and pull the tides. Her people looked to the moon as a father, watching over His children with a fearsome heart. The moon was not Jabu-Jabu, and they had no name for Him. No one has ever been able to explain why their second father traveled the stars without a name; just that when anyone tried to dub Him, it felt thick and wrong on their tongue, making those around them cringe in disgust. It was a high blasphemy to try and name their Father in the Sky. It was a worse insult than calling their Father in the Waves by only half his name.

Mipha might have been content to fall asleep like that; safe under the moon’s watchful gaze, and embraced by the persistent waves. Holding and protecting the man she loved, but she hadn’t wavered in her resolve to know him this night. She wiggled her right hand free from where it lay, intertwined with her left, on Link’s stomach and beneath his own. She placed it on his hip, just above the waistband of his trousers, and trailed her fingers slowly up his flank. Mipha took careful note of how many hand lengths it took to reach his armpit before she moved to massage his shoulder, burying her face in his neck.

Link tensed briefly when she placed a kiss on his flesh, but quickly relaxed, tilting his head to offer her better access. Mipha slid her hand quickly and deliberately down his arm, making sure to memorize its thickness and length. She moved back up the path she came, double-checking the size before gliding her finger across Link’s collar bone. The entire time she lavished his neck with kisses, brief licks, and gentle bites. Mipha had to be careful whenever she bit him. A Zora’s teeth were sharp and serrated. It was frustrating, not being able to bite into him like she had seen other lovers do, but she found a strange pride in being able to nip at his thin skin without causing pain, or drawing blood.

Link was breathing harder now, letting out a small, appreciative sound when her thumb brushed against his nipple, already hard from swimming in the cold water. Mipha traced an idle circle around the little bud, then pinched it slightly. She felt her face flush at the ragged sigh that escaped the man laying on her torso. She left her hand there, to play and tease, using her left to continue counting the inches from his breast to hip. Link adjusted his head to watch Mipha’s hand when it ghosted over the short, coarse hair that grew below his navel and vanished into his trousers. She couldn’t reach the side of his neck from this new angle, so she turned her attention to his shoulder. His reactions to it were underwhelming, to say the least, so she stopped and focused on tracing his waistband with her claws.

“Mipha,” he breathed, somewhere between reverence and question when her hand ignored the obvious bulge forming under that damnable cloth, and instead traced circles on his upper thigh.

“Yes?” she spoke softly, trying in vain to calm the rapid beating of her heart.

Mipha let her fingers fall to his inner thigh, moving them just below his groin before squeezing lightly. She couldn’t see her lover’s face, but she could feel the burning weight of his eyes on her wandering hand. She removed her other hand from his chest, slipped it between them, and gently pushed him up and away. When they were both vertical in the gentle waves, she let herself sink beneath the surface. 

The Princess swam around her fellow Champion, still under the water, running her hands up, down, and across his back, scratching gently. She attentively placed hot, open kisses over his chest. Mipha knew from his previous visits that even soft touches to this area set him off. However, this was the first time she had taken her mouth to his chest, and judging from the way it was heaving against her lips, she had been right to do so.

She heard his muffled gasp when she flicked her tongue experimentally across one of his nipples. She sucked on it, and grazed her teeth across the flesh. Link grabbed the base of her headtail, pulling her lips to the rosy bud she had been neglecting. He sunk slightly in the water, and removed his hand from her head, moving his arms a little wildly whilst trying to keep his legs from kicking Mipha.

That was odd… at least until she remembered he didn't have a swim bladder nestled in his core. Link had to use his limbs to control his buoyancy.

 _Why do I keep forgetting that?_ Mipha thought, fighting the urge to slap herself.

The most her Hylian lover could do without moving his limbs was float on his back, and he had to relax his entire body to do so. What she planned to do for him wasn't likely to be very pleasurable under these circumstances. With this unsurprising revelation, the Zora woman broke the surface and pulled Link into a kiss. She grabbed his firm backside, trying to memorize its shape via fondling. He moaned against her mouth, snaking an arm around her waist to pull her flush against him. Mipha was dimly aware of something pressing against her scaly abdomen, but was too distracted by Link biting her lower lip to give it a second thought. He was rubbing circles on one of her temple fins, just below the silver of her crown. That would need to come off soon. Along with…

She broke their kiss, “Link, would you like to move to the dock?”

He pulled her face back to his for another, briefer kiss and nodded eagerly when their lips parted. She moved out of his way so he could reach for the edge of the stone pier. Link pulled himself from the water, and began walking to the small gazebo near the dam’s stairs, pausing to look at Mipha quizzically when he didn’t hear her leaving the lake to follow him. The Princess was resting her head on her arms, which lay crossed on the stone surface, the rest of her body still submerged. She took off her silver crown, delicately placing it to the side, and gestured for him to sit before her.

Link just… stared at her for a moment. As if he didn’t understand. Mipha stared back, red in the face, hoping beyond hope she wouldn’t have to explain her intention. Fortunately, it seemed to click, his eyes widening before he shuffled, with a rather awkward gait, back to the dock’s edge and sat down. Still wearing his trousers.

Link could be really thick some days.

Mipha drew in a large amount of water through her gills, letting the newly formed air out through her mouth. _He’ll figure it out…_

She settled her hands on his knees, pulling them further apart, and dragging him closer to the edge. Once she was settled comfortably between his legs, she slid her left hand roughly down to his calf, and her right lightly up to the junction of his hip, avoiding his now very apparent erection. She wanted to touch him, but her mother had told her repeatedly during the talks that lasted throughout Mipha’s puberty to never, _ever_ reach into a man’s slit. No fingers. No tongue. It would come out when it was ready, and sticking a digit into its sheath would only cause her lover pain. Nor would he be willing to do her any favors after such a blunder. Her mother had also been cringingly detailed about what she meant by _favors_.

 

Mipha left a slow trail of kisses from Link’s chest to his navel, giving herself a few extra moments to think. She knew full well that a human’s trousers weren’t the equivalent to a Zora’s slit, but it was very clear they associated their clothing with their dignity. Link’s member clearly wasn’t tucked away inside him at this point, but to just reach for him felt... crass.

_Fuck it._

Mipha quickly undid his belt, and pulled both layers of wet cloth away from his skin, just enough to let her long, dexterous tongue slip inside. The thing she came in contact with was _hot_. Almost scaldingly so. She gasped as Link hissed above her-- Mipha never could have imagined the heat that radiated from him. She gave him a couple more tentative licks, slowly adjusting to the warmth. The Zora couldn’t reach much of him from this position, but could glean that at least his upper half was smooth. That was definitely different from the men of her race.

She withdrew from him to look at his face. The sight she was greeted with made her shrink back into the water. Mipha had never seen such hunger in anyone’s eyes, let alone Link’s. The Princess lost all the confidence she had been about to command him with, tugging feebly at the cloth on his knees instead. The Hylian man stood with a grunt, quickly peeling his soaked clothes down his body, and tossing them haphazardly on top of Mipha’s headpiece. Mipha’s solid silver, sapphire encrusted, priceless headpiece that symbolized her status as a princess. The crown forged and gifted to her by Dento, along with her beloved trident the day she hatched.

 _Let it go Mipha. Let it--_ “Oh.”

She had been so preoccupied by Link’s slight offense, she hadn’t noticed him setting back down in front of her, rigid and at full attention. Mipha rose from the water, bracing herself on his thighs, and drinking in the sight she been waiting months to behold. It was the same color as his skin, and was smooth all the way down to its base. The only texture being small veins along his shaft. The base… was weird. His rod was attached to a wrinkly sack. It was covered in the same curly hair found below his navel, and seemed to hold two spherical objects within the loose skin.

 _Wait, those must be his testicles… on the outside? He doesn’t seem to have a slit either… was it-- is it always outside of him? ‘Bare before the world’,_ Mipha thought distractedly. It made sense now.

She reached for it gingerly, as if the strange phallus might bite her. Being freed from its confines had done nothing to cool the sensitive flesh. She stroked him from the base up, and back down again, immediately being rewarded with a low groan. Mipha would have fixed her eyes on Link’s, had she not made another queer discovery. When her hand pushed down on his length, the skin on the tip came down with it, revealing a slightly flushed, mushroom-like crown. It was utterly ridiculous, and she couldn’t fight the nervous giggle that rose in her throat.

“Ahh…” Link was staring at her, looking equal parts perplexed and nervous.

“I’m sorry. It’s just… it’s just cute, is all,” Mipha explained, looking back to the organ she still held in one hand.

The sound Link made in response to her words was long, and nothing short of pained. Her eyes darted back to his face, only to find it hidden behind both of his hands.

“I-I’m sorry! I just--” she stammered helplessly. “I didn’t mean to-- I’m sorry--”

Link shook his head, face still hidden, chuckling with embarrassment. Or shame. Mipha couldn’t tell at this point. He lifted his face to the sky, still covering it with one hand, bringing the other to rest on the one his lover still gripped him with. He squeezed tightly, and guided her hand into a steady rhythm with his own. Once he was sure she wouldn’t stop, or loosen her grip, he let go, stretching his arm behind himself for support as he leaned back.

Mipha watched in fascination as she stroked him. The skin that had once covered his head was now moving loosely along his shaft, and would occasionally return to its original place on his crown. Feeling experimental, she brushed her thumb over his strange head, tracing a circle around it. Link was starting to relax above her, leaning on both hands, and panting softly as he stargazed.

She paused her movements briefly, opening her hand to give her tongue access. Mipha looked up at Link, then licked him, long and slow, from base to tip. He gasped, snapping his head down to look at her, eyes as hungry as they had been moments before her verbal blunder. She didn’t shrink away from him this time, instead, redoubling her efforts. She grasped his member firmly again, and wrapped her tongue around it, just above her hand. Her tongue wasn’t long enough to wrap around him completely, but if she completed a circle around his shaft fast enough, he likely wouldn't notice.

Finding a rhythm between her tongue and hand was not easy or comfortable in the slightest. Mipha must have been doing something right, however, as her lover was moaning occasionally while he watched her pleasure him… occasionally. Only occasional moans. 

Link may have grown into a quiet man, but Mipha couldn’t help but wonder if she was doing something wrong. Even if she wasn’t... each strangled gasp, every low groan he made went straight to her center, lighting a smoldering fire that was steadily driving her mad. She needed more.

Mipha removed her mouth from him, but never slowed the pace of her hand. The Champion unconsciously licked her lips as she thought about her next actions. The tip of his length seemed to be practically sensitive. Maybe a more thorough assault to it would rile him up. However, he did have another place that might bring him pleasure. One she hadn’t thought to touch yet. Mipha swallowed hard, then carefully took his balls between her lips to suck gently.

She didn’t get anything from Link vocally, but she felt his fingers brush against the top of her head. When she looked, he nodded at her encouragingly. He gestured for her free hand, so she gave it to him. The knight guided her fingers, showing Mipha how he wanted to be touched.

“Ligh-ooh-ly. Lightly,” he said panting, yet quiet as ever.

Mipha nodded her understanding, massaging him like he instructed, but fixed him with a hard stare. It was Link’s turn to shrink back. Mipha knew what she must look like as he timidly withdrew his hand; pupils dilated with arousal to the point her golden eyes had all but turned black, eyeing him dangerously, and a determined growl resonating deep in her chest. He often dropped his stoic mask for her when they were alone, but he never truly took it off. Not tonight. Oh no. Tonight she would break him.

Mipha stopped stroking him as she set her tongue to work on his crown. She watched Link carefully, gauging his expressions as she pressed a series of slow licks to the tip of his erection, searching for something to shatter his control. He groaned quietly whenever she brushed over the small span of skin connecting the head and shaft.

_There!_

Mipha slid her tongue along him, from base to tip again, this time making sure to linger at that spot, flicking it with the tip of her tongue before swirling it around the head. That, _that_ made him _whine._ She repeated this motion once, twice, thrice more. Each time she was rewarded with small, almost pitiable sounds of pleasure. Mipha's gills flared with excitement, and she moaned in appreciation.

She brought her hands back into the equation, focusing short, quick pumps on the lower half of his shaft, her dexterous tongue continuing its assault on the tip. Link's hips jerked up, and she had to snap her head back, lest the sudden movement send his length haphazardly into her mouth.

"Sor-ry," Link said, looking a little frightened.

He knew, as well she did, that taking him into her mouth was a bad idea. He had learned that lesson the hard way when he was with struck glorious inspiration during a particularly intense makeout session. He had pressed his palm into her gills, knowing it would make her gasp, then shoved his tongue into her mouth… and ran it along her teeth. What was meant to be an exciting moment of discovery quickly turned into a rather traumatizing memory of both of them panicking with blood running down their chins. Link could be really, really thick some days. He _knew_ how deadly a Zora's teeth were!

"Mipha, please don…" he begged, losing his voice, and pulling her head back towards his arousal.

Mipha bit back an exasperated sigh, and returned to her task. This time however, she used one hand to pin his hips to the stone dock.

 _Oh, my love, when will you learn to think before you act?_ she thought, caught between frustration and adoration.

To make up for the loss of her other hand, Mipha began alternating between her previous rhythm and swapping the positions of her hand and tongue. Link kept his hand on her head, rewarding her with a chorus of delightful sounds, only quieting down again when he wanted her to change pace. The sounds confirming her success rapidly turned the flames burning within her into a wildfire. Her face and gills were almost as warm as the organ pulsing against her hand and tongue, and a dull ache was starting to form between her legs. Mipha had half a mind to touch herself to alleviate the tension in her body, but a quick thrust from Link reminded her she had a better use for her nondominant hand. Thoroughly annoyed, she pushed his hips back down with a force that made him cry out, and would almost certainly leave a bruise. Nothing she couldn’t fix later, but the idea of doing so was oddly… unappealing. She might have taken the time to ponder the reason for that, were her rational mind not already so far away.

The smell of him was intoxicating! The stench of sweat had mixed with the heady aroma of sex and his own masculine scent to create something entirely overwhelming. Mipha removed her tongue from him briefly to give her sore jaw a moment’s rest, but kept her hand at work. Link fixed her with a wolfish grin and thrust his hips up once more. Since her mouth was a safe distance away from his delicate flesh, she allowed him to do so, peppering his inner thigh with kisses. The knight made a sound that was vaguely frustrated as he continued to move his hips. Seeing this as her cue, Mipha tried to lick that sensitive ridge again, but he wouldn’t stop moving.

The Zora Champion flashed him a warning glare. Her own need was steadily overpowering her patience, and the mirth that danced in his eyes as she glared at him irritated her to no end.

“You’re cute, when angry,” he teased in a husky tone.

Mipha’s eye twitched.

Link kept thrusting into her hand, pulling her head back to his erection, trying to encourage her mouth into action again.

“ _Link,_ you reckless child…”

He laughed, long and low. “So cute,” he cooed.

Mipha gripped his hip tightly, digging her nails into his flesh. _This is your last warning_.

He braced himself with one hand, the other still on her head, and sped up the pace of his hips.

She pushed him back into the dock again, this time dragging her claws dangerously across his skin as they traveled to his thigh. Mipha bit his inner thigh as delicately as she could in her agitated state. Link stilled once more, groaning loudly. Satisfied he'd learned his lesson, Mipha returned her tongue to his flesh, hand still tightly squeezing the strong muscles of his leg.

Link’s face and chest were flushed to the point he started to resemble the scaled woman pleasuring him. Her name fell from his lips in a way that sounded like a prayer. He lolled his head back, looking at her from the corner of his eye. Link smirked, and gently pushed his hips up again.

That confused Mipha to no end. _Does he want--?_

She didn’t hesitate this time, scraping his thigh with her nails again, leaving bright red marks across his skin, but not breaking the surface. He spoke her name again, but this time it sounded more like an obscenity than a name.

_Jabu’s tailfin! I need to hear that again._

Mipha quickly returned her hand to his hip, and pressed hard into the already discolored section of skin she had previously pinned him at. Link seemed to grasp what his voice did to her, so he spoke her name again, trying to capture the same primal way he had it said before, and failing. That, however, was irrelevant. Mipha had no intention of stopping now. She gripped him tightly and moved to bite into the hip opposite her hand. Words were beyond him now, and he moaned brokenly above her. Link involuntarily snapped his hips up again, and Mipha pushed him back down with renewed vigor. His loud yell startled her, and the Princess stopped everything she was doing, terrified she’d hurt him, face still hovering over his erection.

“No! Grrraa--” His hand tore away from her head and flew to her own, guiding it back into a steady rhythm as several strangled grunts escaped him.

Mipha didn’t have time to ponder this new development as something hot and sticky landed on her countenance. She looked down in time to see the last of Link’s seed spill onto her hand as he gradually led it to a stop. The Princess couldn’t help but feel more than a little undignified with the realization of what the goopy mess coating her chin was. Of course she knew this would happen, but originally planned on catching it her mouth to avoid this exact situation. Mipha tugged her hand out of Link’s, and brought it to eye level to examine the white substance more closely. She… just couldn’t make eye contact with her lover in that moment... not when she felt so _dirty_.

The Zora didn’t have a lot of thoughts regarding the warm liquid sticking to her fingers, just a morbid curiosity about the flavor.

She shrugged. _I was going to have it in my mouth anyway._ With that thought, Mipha licked Link’s seed off of her fingers in a few, slow motions.

She found herself humming to force away the grimace fighting its way onto her face. It was an old trick, used by healers to keep bile from rising in their throats when encountering sights and smells that would normally send them reeling. It was nowhere near that bad, but the salty bitterness currently attacking her taste buds was still awful, and she didn’t want to hurt his feelings by letting that fact slip.

“Mipha,” he breathed, and she tilted her head up to see him staring down at her through hazy eyes.

 _He looks so blissful,_ Mipha thought warmly.

“You taste better than I ever imagined,” she lied with her sweetest smile. In truth, she had never given much stock as to how he might taste.

He groaned at her words. “I love you. Come here,” he said, moving to cup her cheek.

He leaned forward, clearly intending to place a kiss upon her brow when his thumb brushed over the mess still sticking to her lower face. It must have blended in well with her white skin, for he stopped dead in his tracks, looking absolutely mortified by his discovery.

Link worked his jaw up and down for a few moments before stammering helplessly, “I-I-I! S-sorry, shouldn’t have--! Should of war--!” And then his voice left him, and he just stared, guilt and horror playing their way across his features.

Mipha was at a loss for words. Link had gone from a state of peace to full blown panic so fast it took her lust-addled brain a whole minute to figure out what was wrong.

“I-it’s fine! I’m not upset at all!” She was growing disturbingly comfortable with lying to him.

Link shook his head violently. “Disrespectful,” he muttered, his cheeks were so red Mipha thought if she pressed paper to them, it would catch fire.

He wasn’t looking at her anymore, his arms flailing about as he stammered wordlessly.

Mipha sighed and fought away her own embarrassment. “Link, it really is fine. I knew this would happen. It’ll wash right off. See?” She ducked her head under the water, suddenly glad for her decision to have him on the dock’s edge.

Mipha made a show of scrubbing her face, partially for her lover’s benefit, but mostly to distract from the fact she was rinsing that awful taste from her mouth. When the Champion returned to the night air, she wiped her chin once more, just to prove to Link that no harm had been done. Despite this, he still looked forlorn. Mipha breathed through her gills to stop herself from sighing again. If he saw her annoyance the mood might be lost completely.

Dragging herself out of the water, Mipha settled on her knees beside Link. She wrapped her arms around him and leaned close to his ear. 

Releasing a shaky breath, she spoke, desperately trying to sound alluring, “If you think it to be so bad, then you may as well make it up to me. And,” she said, guiding his hands to the jeweled buckle of her sash, ”I can even give you a few ideas as to how--”

She barely had time to finish her sentence before Link attacked her mouth with his. Mipha hummed contentedly against his lips. Her Champion’s sash was flung in the vague direction of their already discarded clothes, and her belt of silver chains was seconds away from meeting the same fate.

 _Let it never be said this man is slow to recover from a setback,_ she thought as he opened his mouth in invitation.

She obliged the knight's silent request. Mipha didn't understand the appeal of kissing like this, but Link's mouth was safe to enter, and doing so made him happy. As their tongues wrestled for dominance, Link started to fumble with her necklace and collar. Mipha broke the kiss to undo the clasps herself; a simple task made difficult by the calloused hands and hot kisses tormenting her gills.

When she finally freed her neck from its restraints it was instantly attacked by lips, teeth, and tongue. Mipha grabbed Link by his hair, trapping his head where it was.

"You're too gentle. _Harder_. Bite me harder. Don't worry, you won't hurt me," she instructed, pulling his hair to emphasize that it wasn't a request.

When he still failed to deliver satisfactory pressure, Mipha pulled on his damp locks again. Link moved his attention from her scales to her skin, biting hard enough to make the Zora woman yelp in pain. He jerked his head back and opened his mouth as if to speak, but she didn’t give him the chance.

When their lips parted, Mipha whispered in his ear with a low growl, “Thank you.”

Link shuddered in response, although if it was from lust or fear, she couldn’t tell. Thinking back, Mipha couldn’t recall if she'd ever acted quite so _instinctive_ around her lover before. She decided to defuse the situation before it actually became one.

Unsure how to begin, she looked him in the eyes. “Link, I--aahh--!” The other Champion swiped her legs out from under her, cradling her in his arms and standing in one fluid motion.

This was an unexpected turn, a very welcome turn, but an unexpected one nonetheless. He was carrying her to the canopy on the dam’s edge. To the waterbed that rested beneath.

 _My bed_ , she realized, as a new kind of warmth settled contentedly in her chest.

Rutala Dam had always been one of the Zora Princess’ favorite places. It was where she went to think, and focus on her studies. She also may or may not have been found passed out on the dam with paperwork sprawled across her chest like a blanket… twice. King Dorephan ordered the construction of the small shelter for Mipha’s fifty-eighth nameday. “If for nothing else but to save our tax records from the rain,” he had boomed with a mighty laugh.

Mipha smiled at the memory, but pushed it to the back of her mind. Reminiscing was at the very bottom of her priority list as Link set her carefully on the bed. It was surprisingly firm for a water bed, only giving slightly under her weight. Her lover climbed onto the bed and parted her legs, so he could kneel between them. When his eyes glanced down to look at her, where her arousal was very apparent, she looked away and closed her eyes.

Link laughed. Of course he laughed. Mipha's face had been covered in his seed after she licked and stroked his cock mere moments ago, and here she was, melting from embarrassment simply because he was looking at her. Link leaned over her and placed his hands on her cheeks. When she opened her eyes, he kissed her, then moved to caress her gills. They snapped shut reflexively, then relaxed again. Mipha sighed and tried to kiss him, but he sat back up, right hand suddenly between her legs, finger teasing her entrance. He wore the biggest shit-eating grin she had ever seen in her life.

“Pink,” he said simply.

“Yes Link, pink,” she said weakly. What else could she have said to that?!

The Zora woman squirmed uncomfortably under his gaze. Link was referring to the places he had touched, and the one place he continued to stroke. The skin of her face, gills, and groin all turned a very pale pink when she was aroused. If that wasn't bad enough, her slit had widened to the point where her genitals could actually be seen.

Link nuzzled her head and whispered against her temple fin, “Cute.”

“I said I was sorry!” she wailed, hiding her face in her arms.

The Hylian man just laughed at her pain. But then he bit her neck hard again, and all shame was instantly forgotten. Link was still teasing her though, fingers playing just above her core. Mipha couldn't figure out why he hadn't penetrated her yet. It should have been apparent, even to an outsider, that her body was ready. Surely he wasn't punishing her for calling his manhood cute?

 _He does look a bit confused. Maybe he's looking for something?_ For the first time since their courtship started, Mipha wondered not about the differences between Link and Zora men, but of the ones between herself and Hylian women. 

He would need directions then. "Link," she said, nipping his earlobe to emphasize her point. "No more teasing. In."

A dumb blink, an eager nod, and her request was granted. The feeling of Link gently caressing her inner walls was not what she imagined it would be. It was familiar, yes, but also foreign. He surprised her when his fingers, admittedly thicker than her own, immediately went for the ridges nestled on her upper wall, making her gasp. It wasn’t exactly a hard spot to find, but Mipha thought it might take him a little longer to stumble across it. Jabu-Jabu only knows it took her a while to figure it out.

Link leaned over her body and captured her mouth in a heated kiss. Mipha wrapped her arms around him, digging her nails into his back to prevent escape. She needed to have him close. The feeling of his forehead resting atop her own provided a sense of security she wasn’t sure she could survive without. Not when his fingers gave up the tentative exploration of her ridges and pressed firmly against them, picking up speed in the process. The Zora Princess was panting and gasping beneath him now, but that clearly wasn’t enough for Link.

He bit her neck again, but this time directly on the vulnerable skin of her throat. It hurt like a lightning strike, but only served to heighten the pleasure building low in her gut.

“ _Yes_ ,” Mipha growled, bucking her hips against his hand.

She ran a hand up his back and into his hair, pulling him in for another kiss. She bit his lower lip, forgetting to be careful as she pulled away. A droplet of blood was slowly forming from the small cut her carelessness had caused. Mipha ran her thumb across the spot gingerly, summoning her magic to banish the minor wound. It took less than a second to heal something that would have been gone within the week, leaving not a mar on his lip to prove it ever existed, and yet, part of her was proud of the simple achievement.

The healer buried her nose in Link’s neck, drawing in his scent, and lavishing it with attention. She traced a nail across one of the knight’s many scars. It rested just below his left breast. This one had been given to him by a man thirty years his senior during a tourney that provided its combatants with live steel. Another, on his right flank. A burn scar from a red chu’s spiteful death throes. Yet another lived on his shoulder blade, the muscles of which flexed with each thrust into her. This one was made by the arrow of a Yiga Clansman. The coward had ambushed her Link as he rode to Hateno to bury his father.

Her Link?

"Yes. _Mine_ ," she confirmed aloud. Link sighed when he heard that, and cradled her head with his free arm.

Every ill-gotten mark on him set Mipha's blood to a boil. Even now, as the pressure building in her core threatened to snap, she fumed with anger. Not because he had been hurt. Such things were simply unavoidable given the path his life had taken. She didn't fault him for his reckless bravado either. Link wouldn't think twice about braving a thunderstorm for another, such was his selflessness. Ganon's Cage, she wasn't even irked by the cretins who had dared challenge the Hylian Champion. Link had served them all a punishment befitting their crimes.

No, it was herself she was furious with. She hadn't been there for him. Hadn't been there to protect and heal him. Her duties as a princess, a Champion, and a big sister all prevented her from being there for _her_ Link. No, no, she wouldn't give any of them up. She loved her people, her Beast, and the little beast she called brother. She was just making excuses. Mipha knew full well she couldn't always be by his side. Even as his wife. Link would need time away. Time to recoup, time to manage his own affairs, and time to get himself into trouble.

Damn it all! She still wanted to try. She needed to tell him. Tell him that no matter what the future held, he would always have a home in the Domain. A family in her people. Even if she wasn't here, or they had a falling out, Zora's Domain would always be a place of safety for him… and that she would always protect him. No matter what.

“Link, I--” she tried to meet his gaze and failed.

The way he was looking at her froze her voice and melted her confidence. It wasn’t the same hungry look he had given her when she took tongue and hand to his arousal. That hunger was there, but it wasn’t running the show anymore. Something deeper lurked in those icy depths that Mipha’s mind wasn’t able to process in the moment. Her whole body felt like a jellyfish with no venom to protect itself. The pleasure Link gave her had built to a dangerous level and her body ached for release. Mipha settled her eyes on Link’s hand. The one whose digits disappeared within her. She groaned at the sight. Unable to look at anything now, she let her head roll to the side, face vanishing into the crook of her lover’s elbow. The Zora Champion moaned and whined pathetically as her hips jerked up, and the muscles in her legs twitched.

Somewhere through the haze of it all, Link’s voice found her ears, “Mipha. Mipha, look at me.” 

She did as she was told.

“I… am… _yours_ ,” he forced out. “But you are… _MINE_.” He bit her throat again, and the dam broke.

It was too much. He wasn't slowing the pace of his hand at all. If anything he was stroking her ridges with greater vigor than before. Her whole body felt like it had left her, save for the oxymoron that was her climax. It hurt. Her body was so sensitive it genuinely hurt. She needed him to slow down, but when Mipha tried to speak, her voice failed her, turning her attempted plea into a choked out moan.

She snapped her eyes shut and clung desperately to Link's back. She focused on his scent and the sound of his breathing. He was saying something, but Mipha couldn't understand what was said. It sounded vaguely like praise, or perhaps surprise? It didn't hurt anymore, and Link slowed his pace, stroking her gently now. That was good. It let her focus on the strange metallic taste flooding her mouth. Mipha had never experienced this before, yet the flavor was somehow familiar, and not unpleasant.

Her climax didn't last as long as it normally did when she touched herself, but that didn't bother the Zora. She was actually quite grateful for the return to coherent thought.

At least until she realized her jaw was clamped firmly on Link's shoulder, and the coppery taste dancing across her tongue was his blood.

Mipha did her best to gently remove her teeth from Link's skin. Fortunately, they hadn't gone in too deep. _Unfortunately,_ they were serrated, and her Hylian lover hissed in pain at the extraction.

Mipha looked closely at the fresh injury. There were only three cuts, all of which were shallow. It wasn't even bleeding that badly. She had honestly been expecting something infinitely more traumatic. She was about to apologize for her carelessness when she heard Link laughing again. Genuine laughter filled with amusement. Mipha met his gaze, bewildered.

"Marking your territory?" he asked between chuckles.

 _Marking my--? That's barbaric!_ The Zora Princess thought, slightly offended… very offended. _At least he's not mad._

Mipha drew in a cleansing breath, not trusting her temper to stay even, and moved to heal him wordlessly. Her fingertips didn't make it within five inches of his shoulder before she found her wrist pinned above her head.

"Wha-hat?" She stammered helplessly, reaching with her free hand to bat at Link's.

Mipha's attempt to fight back lasted all of three seconds before he caught her other wrist too. Link was straddling her now, and was sporting half an erection.

"No," he said simply.

The healer gawked at him. "What do you mean 'no'? You're _bleeding_!"

"Not badly."

"It's going to leave a mark…" she said in a dull voice.

"Good. Good memory." It was at this point that Mipha realized Link was speaking at a normal volume.

"Doesn't it hurt?"

He shrugged. "Had worse."

Link adjusted his grip on Mipha's wrists so he could hold them both in one hand. He pointed to a nasty scar on his left forearm. The skin there was discolored an intended slightly from when the flesh had been torn open and away.

"Lizalfos," he said dismissively.

Mipha shuddered at the sight. Although she had yet to be caught by the powerful jaws of a lizalfos, she would personally tend the wounds of those who had. The Champion was often the victim's only hope to prevent crippling damage to the affected area. A lizalfos' jaw was strong enough to pierce a Zora's scales and embed its teeth into bone. To say such injuries were prone to infection would be a massive understatement. Every single patient she had treated for Lizalfos bites always had a blood infection by the time they made it into her care. Link was very lucky to still have that arm.

“Will you at least let me close it?” Mipha asked, hoping for a compromise. This was a battle of wills, and in such a conflict, Link always came out on top. Even the force of a raging river would meet its match in the undersized Hylian.

The fool above her let go of her wrists, and when Mipha finished her task, he rubbed the small, raised scars to make sure she had kept her word. Or maybe it was just to quell some itching, which was a common side effect to her magic, or so she’d been told. Link smiled before rolling off the confused woman to snuggle against her side. Mipha adjusted so she could face him, and found one of her hands trapped in his again. The knight was holding her gently this time, and unfastened her bracelet, then quickly repeated the process for the other hand. He massaged her shoulder fin, briefly gazing at her anklets as if they were offensive. Link must have thought it a bother to remove them however, as he simply laid back down to look at Mipha again.

“You good?” he asked, voice returning to its default whisper.

“Why wouldn’t I be? You’re the one who… agh.” Mipha pointed vaguely at his new scar, and rubbed her eyes to the point they nearly hurt.

Link blushed and turned his face away from hers. “You… looked like--” he pointed at himself-- “when I--” he then made a very lewd gesture starting at his crotch and ending near her face. The young man looked horrified when he realized the motion he just made.

“Call it even!” he pleaded, throwing his hands up in surrender before mimicking Mipha’s attempt at scrubbing the memories away.

The Zora Princess laughed slightly. “That’s not an equivalent, Link,” she said, too exasperated at the debacle this night had become to feel anything else but numb from the madness that was their foreplay.

 _Foreplay? Heh, as if this will be going any further…_ Mipha wasn’t sure how to feel about that revelation. She wanted more, and highly doubted it could get any worse than it already had… but there was a slight chance it could, and she didn't think she could handle anymore awkwardness. On top of that, she could already feel her arousal draining.

At least that was until she noticed Link absentmindedly stroking himself. His motions were slow and unhurried, as if he didn’t have a goal in mind.

He smiled sheepishly. “Didn’t want to… lose it. Just in case,” he said, hope creeping its way into his voice.

“Oh, uh… I have a question,” Mipha said shyly. It was one that had been nagging at the back of her mind since Link first touched her in that odd, searching way.

"I was wondering if you've, um… ever done this before. With another human?"

Link looked more like a startled deer than a man in that moment and ceased the movements of his hand. He stopped breathing for a moment, then nodded slowly.

"It was before us… Mad?" he asked, clearly afraid of the answer.

"Oh, no. Just a little jealous, I guess," Mipha said, distractedly tracing the muscles of Link's abdomen.

If Mipha was being completely honest with herself, she would have mentioned her disappointment at not being his first. But she didn't fault him for his choices. It was before their courtship had started, after all. Nor was she really surprised by this information. Link attracted as much, if not more attention from the opposite sex than she did. The young woman would be a wicked liar if she said the idea of sex just for the simple satisfaction of it was unappealing. Despite Gaddison's earlier teasing, their people didn't have any qualms about premarital relations. She didn’t fully understand why all the other races obsessed over abstaining until the wedding night. Perhaps they were like that because they were fertile year round, while a Zora's cycle was set to the seasons.

Still, Mipha had never taken the chance whenever it had arisen. She just hadn’t been ready before now to have someone that close to her. Plus, her status would also make it impossible to keep such an affair private. No one she took under the waves would have been able to keep it to themselves, and she felt that other people just didn't need to know who she chose to share her body with. It was simply none of their concern. That was the biggest downside of being such a prominent figure. Everyone wanted to know the gory details of your life.

Link seemed to sense the general flow of Mipha's thoughts, for he spoke hastily and without looking directly at her. "I've only ever… hands and mouth. I've never been, uh. I…"

Mipha looked up from the invisible bird she was drawing on Link's belly to see him push two fingers of one hand into a ring formed by the other, still making a concentrated effort not look her in the eye. She buried her face in his chest, trying to stifle a laugh.

 _This man is going to kill me_. It was just funny to her at this point; how, someone who could face a charging lynel, couldn't say he'd never been inside a woman before. And the childish way he chose to get his point across would be something she would never let him live down.

But teasing could wait. Mipha was still on a mission.

"Wou--" she cleared her throat, surprised by its unsteadiness-- "would you like to? N-now? With m-- I've never done any of this before, and I, um. Please?" The Princess squirmed uncomfortably beneath the weight of her request, Link's gaze, and her newfound hypocrisy.

She felt as though her lungs might burst from stress if she tried directly asking to have him inside her.

Link rubbed her cheek with his thumb. "You sure?" he asked seriously. "Risky."

"Risk-- oh…" He didn't know.

_Why didn't he know? It was obvious… at least it should be. Okay, don't panic… just… simple fact first, damaging fact after._

"It's the wrong time of year for eggs," Mipha said carefully, failing miserably to remain calm. "They, w-we're--Zoras are only fertile in the late winter. Eggs need the cool waters of spring, and hatchlings the bountiful rivers of summer."

_Deep breath, Mipha. Deep breath._

"That's why the Solstices are so special to us. Why we celebrate so extravagantly on those days."

"Huh," Link sounded like he’d found a puzzle piece under his desk that went missing years ago.

He knew that both festivals were about life, but had never actually known why. It made sense. Link may have grown up in Zora's Domain, but that didn't mean he received a comprehensive education about how its inhabitants reproduced. That, however, was not what baffled Mipha...

"And um, even if that weren't the case, we…" Mipha couldn't decide if she wanted to push herself away from him or not. She was truly scared what his reaction would be. "We can't… create life together, Link. Our, uh--" she fumbled briefly for the right words, "internal workings are too different… I thought you knew that. I'm sorry."

Link loved children, and had made jokes more than once about the kind of father he would be one day. As they grew more serious as a couple, Mipha had assumed he was willing to adopt. She had assumed he knew Hylians and Zoras couldn’t reproduce. One gave live birth whilst the other laid eggs for Nayru's sake!

Now she was assuming he would be crushed, and even reject her because of this revelation.

Assumption was a bad habit she really needed to break herself from.

Mipha felt Link's hand on the small of her back, then he pulled her flush against himself. 

He pressed his forehead against hers and spoke with confidence, "I love you. Nothing can change that."

Mipha released a breath she didn't know she was holding. "I love you too, Link. Even though you're a handful most days."

The other Champion propped himself up on an elbow and gestured to himself, "Me? _Never_." His voice was filled with mock offense.

The crimson woman rolled her eyes at him. "Yes you, and _always_. Really now, you haven't grown up at all," she chided warmly.

He opened his mouth to protest, but closed it quickly with a huff. Mipha knew him too well, and could counter anything he said in his defense. So instead of denying the accusation, he simply proved her point by rolling her off the bed.

The scaled Champion studied the smooth stone she lay upon with mild confusion. Then with agitation, a plan quickly formed in her mind. A glorious and brilliant plan consisting of a single, powerful word.

Vengeance.

Mipha gathered her legs beneath her and launched herself full force at the startled man, who had been smirking mere seconds ago. A Zora's legs may be short, but they were dense with muscles strong enough to propel them up waterfalls.

The squabbling lovers toppled to the ground on the opposite side of the bed in a mess of tangled limbs and strangled grunts. Mipha pulled herself free from Link as quickly as she could. He was confused, and wasn't putting up a proper fight yet. The Princess clambered back on her bed, kicking at the knight trying to follow suit.

Link grabbed one of her still jeweled ankles, ripping her from the bed. She landed on her rump, but quickly stood and turned to jump on Link's back as he tried to reclaim the bed. She wrapped her legs around his waist, planting her feet on the edge of the bed, and pushed with all her might, bringing them crashing to the floor once again.

The Hylian Champion managed to roll them so he was on his hands and knees, the enraged amphibian still clinging to his back. However, a swift knee to the ribs dashed his hope of standing. Link found his right arm pinned behind his back and under Mipha, his left tugging roughly at the red limb braced against his neck.

He pulled Mipha's arm out far enough to gnaw on it. It hurt of course, but only a little. Link would need to pierce her skin before she would relent, and those blunt nubs he dared to call teeth were useless for such a task. He tried to lift himself with his knees, but was slammed back into floor by Mipha's hips at every attempt.

She buried her face in his drying hair, and nipped the back of his neck, reminding him who held the power. The crimson woman was getting high from the feeling of dominance as Link tried fruitlessly to free himself. It was a rare and sweet victory for Mipha whenever she managed to pin her comrade.

The rush of her success quickly subsided when she realized how ridiculous and obscene the position she had found herself in was; both she and Link were naked, with Mipha essentially grinding against his ass while trying to maintain her position of power.

Upon hearing his assailant giggle, Link ceased his struggling and made a quizzical sound.

"What are we doing?" Mipha asked between laughs.

"Making love?" Link ventured.

"I think we're doing it wrong." Her voice was full of amusement.

He grunted in agreement. "We're missing some things to make this position work," he said, chuckling.

 _That's the longest sentence I've heard him speak in months_ , she thought as she released his arm, rising off his back to massage it.

"I love you… wait, h-how do you know about _that_?" she said, halting the massage.

He had said "some _things_ ", not " _something_ ". That wording held implications for an act she thought she'd never hear about again.

Link twisted to lean on his elbow so he could see her face. "How do _you?"_

Mipha took a deep breath and slipped into her ambassador voice to gave him the polite, abridged version of the story. "My mother is well informed on many topics, and deems it fit that I should be as well. Now you."

"I've… been to the desert," he said, blushing profusely.

 _I have so many questions. None of which are appropriate at the moment_.

The Zora Princess had never been to the Gerudo Desert. Few of her people ever had. It was extremely dangerous for them. They dehydrated faster than the other races in the extreme heat, and their cold blood meant they could easily freeze to death in the night. On top of that, most of the monsters that dwelt within the sand dunes were gifted with electrical magic. It was no place for members of the aquatic race, but Mipha had still met many of the proud women who called that inhospitable land home. 

Many Gerudo made a point to stop in Zora's Domain during their search for a husband. Zoran art and poetry often found itself in Gerudo Town, but the artisans themselves never did. These circumstances turned the Zoras into somewhat of a legend. Their home was also completely alien to what the Gerudo considered normal.

"A mysterious race of 'fish' people with tails on their heads, and who live in a body of water so deep, it could swallow the city whole!"

Mipha had heard so many variations of that awe-struck story throughout the years she'd given up on kindly asking her naive visitors to not refer to her race as fish. It wasn't their fault no one had told them it was a slur to the Zora. Nor was it Mipha's fault if one of her citizens rightfully snapped at a tourist for their ignorance.

Most shopkeepers and guards kept a level head when dealing with the young, foreign women, and it helped that the Gerudo made up for their ignorance with an overwhelming willingness to learn. It was actually rather cute to see the giant women chattering excitedly with school teachers about the long history of Zoran culture. And they always bought enough Zora made goods to start their own museum.

Then there was what they brought with them from the desert. The husband hunters mostly brought stories and awkward questions about courtship. The merchants, on the other hand, brought with them all sorts of bits and baubles, most of which were unique to Gerudo Town. The most popular of which was art made from blown glass. They made everything from little, rosy birds to large, brilliantly colored dragons.

They also made practical, yet artistic items out of glass, like bowls and plates. And even some more intimate items. You could find such personal items modeled after the men of every race in Hyrule. Some of which could even be placed in a harness meant to be worn on the hips. Mipha’s mother had told her that two women would use those harnesses when fingers and tongue weren’t enough. She had also told her daughter that some men enjoyed being penetrated as much as women, but didn’t always want to have another man for company. It was in that same conversation that the old sea queen told Mipha to always keep an open mind.

The young woman briefly wondered if Link may be one such man, but that flow of thought was quickly dammed shut when the knight beneath her rolled them over so he was hovering above her.

“Want to stop?” he asked, sounding concerned.

“No, no. Unless you want to?”

Link smiled and stood, extending a hand to help her up. He sat on the bed and leaned back against the headboard. He had gone soft during their scuffle, and was pointing at the space between his legs. Mipha was expecting a request to service him with her mouth again, but instead, he pulled her down to lay on top of him. Their lips met briefly, and Link’s hands quickly found their way to Mipha’s tailfin.

 _Not wasting anymore time, I see. Good._ She hummed in approval as slid his hands under her fins to grip her rear directly, and roughly.

Mipha began playing with his nipples, kissing Link in that weird, tongue-in-mouth way he loved so much. She guessed it must be popular among Hylians, because it never failed to excite him. Link groped at her chest with one hand, seemingly forgetting there was nothing there to grab. However, such a setback was trivial for Farore’s Chosen, and Link slowly, painstakingly moved to her gills. Mipha broke their kiss, desperately pulling air into her small lungs. Link ghosted his fingertips over the young Zora’s gills, but didn’t linger for long, quickly traveling to the section of her waist where scale met skin.

The knight adjusted his lover so she was sitting upright, straddling his lap, her womanhood pressing against his slowly hardening length. He studied that small meeting of skin and scale with his fingers, fascinated with how the different pressures he applied affected the woman rocking her hips against his. The movement didn’t bring Mipha any pleasure, but the feeling of Link growing and pulsing against her entrance was exciting! The young man gripped her waist and began to move with her, groaning slightly. It wasn't long before he was back to full mast.

Link bucked hard against Mipha, making her yelp in surprise. “Ready?” His voice was pleading.

Mipha couldn’t refuse. She nodded and lifted herself up to reach between them. She gripped his erection and guided it into her. In that moment she realized something she hadn’t noticed before; Link was thick. More so than she thought a man would be, and she hissed in pain at the insertion of his head.

 _Are all men like this, or is it just a Hylian thing?_ She was fairly certain that Zoras weren’t like this, but she’d never seen one in person, so what did she know? She knew her mother had warned of this, and even given advice on how to avoid it, but her eagerness had gotten the better of her.

Link was straining to remain still under her, face torn between frustration and concern.

“Want to stop?” he asked for the second time that night, clearly not wanting to hear words of affirmation.

Mipha shook her head violently. She was going to see this through to the end. She placed her free hand by Link’s head, supporting the majority of her weight on it.

 _Don't let him force it in. Ask for short, shallow thrusts_ , she thought, reciting the wise words whilst trying not to think of who had spoken them. Mipha was grateful to be the one in control. She didn't think she could handle voicing her needs in that moment.

It was working. With each small push down and move back up, she was able to take more of him into her core without causing herself further pain. Mipha stilled and closed her eyes once he was fully sheathed within her. She wasn't ready to look at him yet, and she needed more time to take in the new sensations flooding her body.

He wasn't as hot inside her as he was against her skin. Her own heat matching his in an inferno that threatened to consume them both. She could feel the knight's pulse beating in time with her own. It was pleasant and strange and uncomfortable all at once.

 _What... What do I do now?_ Well, she knew _what_ to do. Move. But that scared her a little. How could she possibly do so when it felt like there was no space left between them?

Nothing she had experienced in the past had prepared her for the feeling of her body being stretched open by him. Mipha risked a glance at Link to find him staring at her expectantly.

"Okay?" he asked in a strained voice. Mipha could see his impulsiveness fighting with his self-control in the way the corner of his mouth twitched.

She nodded and closed her eyes again. He pulled encouragingly on her waist. Or perhaps it was demandingly. It was hard to tell without seeing him. Her hand found his chest, the steady rise and fall of Link’s breath providing her with the reassurance needed to hesitantly shift her hips. The young woman felt her lover’s thumb brushing softly against her cheek as she slowly rocked against him, her body finally starting to adjust to his girth. She leaned into his touch, grabbing his hand in her own to place a languid kiss on his wrist. Mipha felt her whole body begin to relax with every small rise and fall of her hips, and the strain she had felt from having Link inside quickly turned into something akin to electricity. It wasn’t great by any means, but it was good and getting better. The Champion’s confidence returned to its rightful place in her chest and, after a couple of false starts, she found a sustainable rhythm.

The lovers began gasping lightly together, and the crimson Zora dared to open her eyes again. Link was smiling at her.

“That’s it,” he praised, and pushed his palm insistently against her backside.

Mipha glowed from his approval. The swordsman beneath her never gave out false praise. Not to his lessers, not to his equals, and not even to his betters. If you wanted his respect, you had to _earn_ it.

Still, the slight pressure on her rear told her he wanted more. That her unsure movements weren’t enough. That she could do better, and that he knew it.

After thinking for a brief moment, she decided to experiment a little. The inexperienced woman lifted herself up until only Link's head remained in her, then quickly pushed back down on him. She repeated this motion a few more times, trying to gain a sense for the timing of each thrust. Confident she wouldn't lose him, Mipha picked up the pace, lifting her hips up fast and slamming them down as hard as she dared. A pitiful, almost involuntary sound escaped her throat each time his crown passed over her ridges.

" _Yes_ ," Link breathed. He was still holding on to her rear, squeezing it roughly as he lay with eyes closed and mouth hanging open.

Mipha leaned down to place several teasing kisses to his lips. It was strange and empowering to see the Hero give himself so completely to another-- no, not just another-- to her.

 _Mine to love. Yours to love_ , she thought as he moved one hand to the back of her head, begging with his body for a deeper kiss. She obliged, sliding her tongue into his mouth once again. His resulting moan felt like a bird's song when it beat against her eardrum. Mipha broke their kiss, much to Link's disappointment, and moved to attack his neck with affection.

"Mip-- oh. Fuck. You… you're… agghhh." He was trying to compliment her. Maybe even say something profound about this. Them. Having sex. How they fit together so well. The sheer ecstasy of it all. Or maybe he was just speaking the first thing that came to mind, unable to contain his fractured thoughts.

It didn't matter either way. Mipha giggled. _Ever the poet_ , she thought fondly.

Link groaned whilst she laughed, her hips faltering slightly. He bucked his hips into her, trying to create a synchronized rhythm, but only succeeding in startling her into a brief moment of stillness.

A trained knight never failed to exploit their opponent's lapse in concentration.

The Zora Champion found herself pinned against the Hylian's body, his arms wrapped over her upper back and waist. Mipha didn't get the time to process a single thought before he was thrusting into her without mercy.

The sound that escaped her was akin to a scream. Link grunted with the effort of keeping his relentless pace as he bit, kissed, and sucked on her neck, drawing a cacophony of new, magical sounds from the poor woman.

 _My throat is going to be very sore tomorrow._ At least she could take solace in knowing Link would suffer the same fate. He was all but screaming against her templefin.

She probably should have been thinking of something deeper than that, but she honestly felt lucky she was able to create coherent thoughts at all. He was moving so fast that she couldn't process individual sensations inside herself, just a spark budding somewhere within her body.

Mipha knew what was coming and almost couldn't wait as her walls tightened slightly in warning. The thought of obtaining her release with him. Like this. She knew he had already finished her once this night, but this was different somehow. This time he would actually, truly feel it-- no, _experience_ it. Maybe he'd even come to his own end with her, and they could bask in the afterglow together, still joined as their bodies and minds came back to the earth.

Maybe she could even look at him as she came-- nope! No! Definitely not. Not when his eyes dug trenches in her soul like that.

But she was still close, she just needed to keep breathing, and chase down the pressure in her core, and, and… 

He wasn't inside her anymore. But she felt him, still hard as a rock, rubbing against her backside a couple times before coming to a stop.

He let go of her and said, "Sorry, let me just.." He was pushing her up, trying to reach between them…

…

…

…

He had popped out… she had been on the edge of an intense climax… and he had fallen out!

Mipha couldn't decide whether to help him or throttle him as he fumbled about for that stupid, wonderful organ of his.

Help. She decided to help. If she didn't have him inside again soon--

"Wait, Mipha, c-c-an we-we tr--" He was looking at her like a puppy would its master, pleading with hopeful eyes for an extra, undeserved treat.

_He doesn't even know! Doesn't matter…_

She grabbed his face and spoke in a shaky voice, "Yes, Link. Whatever you want. Just. Fuck. Me."

Mipha came to the sudden realization that nothing could make her happier than the bed she knelt upon opening into a yawning abyss and swallowing her whole, never to be seen again.

Why had she said that? She was desperate, yes, but that was so undignified. So crass. It was so… so… so--

"Din's tits, _yes!_ " Link swore, attacking Mipha's mouth with his own and flipping them over.

\--it was so very effective!

Link broke their kiss, moving his hands to her hips in a hurried, unfocused manner. The scaled woman thought he might try to lift her hips to his own, but instead he was tugging them to the side, trying to turn her over. She complied and found herself yanked onto her hands and knees.

Hot kisses and excited tongue marched their way from the nape of Mipha's neck and down to the base of her tailfin. Strong hands fondled her rump and parted her legs, and then, that bold, adventurous tongue mapped a path along her pale flesh. Then it was running across her slit, testing, testing, exploring, and then diving in.

The Zora Princess arched her back and inhaled sharply. Mipha had always wanted to be pleasured this way, but there were a few factors that made the experience rather underwhelming. The first of which was the unpleasant reality of Link's nose brushing against her anus.

_How is he not bothered by that? Surely it must smell… even if it's just a little._

That thought, however, did not stop the Princess from pushing back against his face, desperate for him to reach deeper, to lick her ridges until she was screaming his name.

And there was the second problem. His tongue, like all Hylian's, was maliciously short. Mipha didn't understand how Farore could have been so cruel when she crafted the Hylians. They clearly used their mouths to bring their partners pleasure, but how? How, with a tongue so short, could they please their women orally? Men she understood. A man could be swallowed whole without the aid of a restrainer to protect him from harm. But the women? She just couldn't wrap her head around it. Maybe it had something to do with the way Link had searched around her entrance. It must.

 _I need to invest in a book on Hylian biology_ , she decided with finality, gasping slightly as Link did his damndest to work her into a frenzy.

He was doing a surprisingly good job given his limitations. Then again, this was Link. Link with his head between her legs. Link, whose tongue lapped up her arousal like a cat's would milk. And Link, the madman, who had buried the tip of his nose in her ass without a moment's hesitation. It was amazing. Yet it still wasn't enough. Not when the sensation of being filled so completely by him was still a fresh memory and at the very forefront of her thoughts.

"Link," she all but sobbed with need. "Please." Mipha may be the pilot of a Divine Beast, but she felt no shame in begging. Not when she needed her lover this badly. Not when she knew she was safe with the man who was failing to catch her meaning.

He was redoubling the efforts of his mouth, humming in approval at each broken plea that fell from Mipha's lips. Maybe a return to vulgarity would prove fruitful.

"Link--nrghh." The Princess folded her arms and rested her forehead upon them, rubbing against the knight's face shamelessly.

It was hard to form words when she could barely breathe.

_I can do this… just say it!_

A deep breath and a second try. "Link." One more deep breath for good measure. "Link, I wa-- I need yo--" She just couldn't say it.

Why couldn't she say it?! 

She knew why. She was lucid now, and knew how ridiculous and improper it would be. For her, quiet and reserved, calm and respectful, graceful and strong, crown princess of the Zora, pilot of Vah Ruta, to beg a man for his cock.

The loss of his warmth against her skin and a pressure at the small of her back told she didn't need to try again. Mipha let the other Champion guide her down onto the mattress, so she lay flat on her belly. Then he was on her. In her. Strong and slow. Legs on either side of her hips. Hands on braced on her rear. Groaning with her in relief. The new angle made it so each thrust pressed directly into the ridges on her inner wall.

Link ran his fingertips down his lover's spine and, after a time, spoke in mock awe. "You swore."

Mipha snorted. "Muzu was right, you are a bad influence."

That made him laugh the hardest she'd heard him laugh in an entire year. It was the most beautiful thing that had ever beat against her eardrums. And it wasn't just a sound. It was a feeling. A feeling that reverberated throughout her entire body.

He spoke again, punctuating each sentence with a hard slam into her. " _You_ taught me my first… remember when Bazz? The Brigade? At Shatterback Point?" Damn his habit of speaking in fragments. It was hard to hear him over her own whines.

He let her think back, returning to his previous motions as he threw back his head to let out a chorus of shameful sounds.

She remembered that day well. Link had only been a boy of six at the time. Bazz had thought of a mission to test his brigade's bravery. Jump off of Shatterback Point. He and the others took one look over the edge and backed down, all realizing the mistake they'd made. Well, all except Link, who flung himself headfirst off the cliff after a brief moment of contemplation. Mipha found him by chance; his arms broken, skull cracked, and lungs filled with water, floating limply on the river's surface.

"You said-- aragh!" Link cut into her traumatizing memory from the present. A present in which he took longer than five seconds before deciding if he could survive a fall or not.

He tried again. "Said-- _you_ \-- 'Damn you, you reckless child'." He laughed again, that same powerful laugh.

Mipha didn't enjoy it as much the second time around.

She twisted her head around to glare at him. "You almost died that day! I think my anger was justified. If hadn't been there--"

"You were! You still are," he said, repositioning himself so he was laying on her back. "My rock." He nuzzled her head and captured her mouth in a sloppy kiss. She vaguely registered the taste of her own arousal on his lips. Not very pleasant, but tolerable given the circumstances.

 _His rock?_  

It was an odd saying. One most Rito and Zoras never understood. To anchor someone in place was to hold them captive. But that wasn't the proper meaning. Not to the other races. Not to someone who had studied their cultures for the better part of a quarter century.

"Always," she said and took a deep breath. Mipha had intended to say more with the freshly gathered air, but she let it go in a soft sigh instead.

There would be time for talk later. Right now she just wanted to lose herself in the moment. To how light her body felt. To the hot air that caressed her cheek, accompanied with sounds of bliss. She was remarkably calm despite her racing heart.

Link was growing experimental, shifting his hips to play with angles and pace without lifting himself off his lover's back. He was smart enough not to rest his full weight on Mipha, and his steady presence served to heighten her relaxed state.

Before long the Princess realized he was responding to her voice. To the sounds she made. When she grew quiet he would switch rhythm, and if it failed to draw something he deemed satisfactory from her throat, he changed again. Mipha began using this to her advantage, rewarding him with exaggerated moans to encourage him, and dissuading him from certain actions with simple breathing.

The knight, for his part, was very vocal about what felt good for him. Not everything that was amazing to Mipha seemed to impress him, so she tried to strike a balance, responding to him the loudest whenever he groaned in her ear.

But then that feeling of lightness came to a head when he set a pace of short, quick thrusts. Mipha couldn't tell if he was grunting from ecstasy, effort, or both. It may have been selfish of her, but she honestly didn't care. An all too familiar pressure was building again, and she had already been denied once by him.

 _I'll make it up to him_ , she decided as her walls tightened briefly, trapping her next breath in her throat.

" _Liiinnk_ ," she said, emphasizing his name in a high whine. "Like that. D-on't ssst-op!" He needed to know now, while she could articulate her needs.

One of his hands drifted within Mipha's vision and she captured it with one of her own, then buried her face in the mattress. The Champion showered her lover with muffled affirmations of her enjoyment until it was all she could do to breathe.

 _Merciful Nayru, don't let him stop._ Mipha was concerned her lapse into silence would cause him to switch things up.

She was terrified that a change this close to her release would cause her body to reset, forcing her to climb to the peak again. Mipha squeezed Link's hand, forcing those thoughts away. She knew from experience that if she thought too hard about being able to reach her climax, it would never come.

Her body tensed for a brief moment, yet it felt like a thousand years. She inhaled on the edge, and exhaled in the raging torrent. Now she couldn't have kept quiet if her life depended on it. The knight riding her tried to keep his rough rhythm as her muscles spasmed around him, but he faltered, moving in longer, softer strokes. 

This didn't bother the Princess. She had already fallen. Hard and fast, slow and gentle, it didn't matter anymore. Link was all that she needed now. The 'how' of it was as far from important as it could get.

Strangely enough, the oversensitivity that normally came with her orgasms was absent. Perhaps it was because Link's arousal assaulted her body in such an unfocused fashion. Mipha couldn't pick out any one voice from the chorus flooding her senses. Even the high notes played by her ridges were lost in the chaos of it all. This was something she would need to explore later on, when she was by herself again.

By herself. Now that was a thought that stung. Link wouldn't be here for more than three days. Zora's Domain was simply a waypoint on the endless circuit that was Princess Zelda's training. She would restock, leave, and take Link with her, not be seen or heard from until the cycle started again.

Mipha shook her head, trying to clear the thoughts from her spinning mind. Link was here with her now. Link was _in_ her now, whispering something she couldn't quite make out through the haze. Link was here now, and he was _hers_. No one else's.

_Mine to love, yours to love. Here for you always… I don't want you to leave again!_

"F--uck, Mipha, not yet." Link must be close. He was shaking above her, trying to hold on when he shouldn't be.

The red woman lifted her face from the sheets, relishing the fresh air as her body started to calm itself. Her muscles relaxed fully, and the feeling of weightlessness fled away like those poor frogs from earlier in the day. Magic had faded from the world, yet all the beauty still remained.

Mipha tried to turn and kiss him, but the Hero shied away, ducking under the base of her headtail, trying to muffle his whining. The Princess smiled warmly and settled on bringing the hand she still held to her lips to place a tender kiss on its knuckles.

"I-- ah!" Her attempt at speech was cut short by a loud cry and sudden hard thrust from Link.

Three, four, five more hard thrusts and constant whining later, and something like liquid fire spilt low into Mipha's belly. She groaned at the surprisingly pleasant feeling while Link slowly brought his jerking hips to a stop.

Mipha let out a heavy sigh and stretched as best she could under her quivering lover. He seemed to take this as a sign of unrest, and made an attempt to get up.

"No, stay, please." Although she could already feel him starting to soften, the crimson Zora wasn't ready to part with the knight just yet.

 _Hylians deflate so fast_ , Mipha thought as Link settled back down, resting his full weight on her and tangling his arms with her own, bringing them to rest under her chin. He was still breathing hard.

 _Gaddison was kind of right. They are weird_. But it was a kind of weird the Princess loved.

 _Wait, is he crying?_ Link was still hiding under her headtail, and Mipha felt something warm and wet on her neck. He was… sobbing softly against her skin.

"Link, are you okay?" she asked, squeezing his arm gently.

He nodded, no doubt smearing snot into her neck. Gross, but unimportant.

"Let me up, please," Mipha asked gently. She knew he wouldn't be able to explain himself right now. Seeing his face was her only chance at understanding.

Link held her tightly for a moment, then rolled off her. Mipha frowned at the newfound emptiness that caused, but pushed it away. Something was wrong with Link, and that was all that mattered to her now.

His back was to her, and his sides rose and fell with silent tears. Mipha reached for his shoulder and, when he allowed her touch, let out a breath she didn't know she was holding.

"Don't want me to see?" she asked gently.

He shook his head.

"Overwhelmed?"

A nod.

"Do you want to be lef--"

Violent shaking of the head.

"Would you like to be held?"

A small nod.

Mipha scooted closer to him, pulling him flush against her body. She snaked an arm under his head for him to use as a pillow, then she started stroking his hair and humming her favorite nursery song.

_A simple three note tune, that holds no rhyme true. A gift from the Moon, to ease the troubled mind. No greater peace, will you find._

Her father had taught her that rhyme and the song it was about. Everyone gave it their own words, although Mipha hadn't found any for herself yet.

Link sighed and his breathing began to even out, but she could still hear him snorting and sputtering. Although it wasn’t easy to upset him, the poor man always broke down if something made it past his guard. As a knight’s son, he never learned to deal with his emotions, as it was considered poor form by the elite soldiers for one to wear their heart on their face. You were either a stonewall or a weakling. A flawed philosophy that Link lived his entire adult life by.

The Hero sighed, rubbed his face, and rolled onto his back to look at Mipha. Eyes red and slightly puffy, he worked his mouth open and closed, only managing to make a small, cracked sound.

Mipha brushed his cheek and shushed him. “You don’t need to apologize. You have nothing to be ashamed of, Link.” She spoke soft and slow, worried she might frighten him with loud sound. 

“I accept all of you. Pain, joy, anger--” she traced a circle on his left breast while she spoke-- “happiness, frustration, fear, sadness… I ju-- I do worry sometimes.” She chose her next words very carefully, “You’re locked inside your own head most of the time and,” she closed her hand into a fist. “I’m here, should you ever need an ear.”

Link pulled her head down so he could nuzzle it. “I know.” His voice was hoarse. “Just not ready,” he mumbled.

Mipha leaned into his affection, sighing happily. “I know, and I understand. I don’t ever want to make you uncomfortable. What I mean is, you don’t have to hide from me.” She kissed his forehead. “Nothing you could ever say or do would make me think less of you.”

The knight sighed and closed his eyes, turning on his side to snuggle into his lover’s chest. The young woman rubbed his back and started humming again, hazy and unfocused. She might have fallen asleep like that, were it not for the sticky mess coating her thighs, which was quickly becoming unbearable. Living in the water meant one rarely found themselves covered in filth of any kind, and the Zora Princess couldn’t stand feeling dirty.

After a few unsuccessful attempts to find a comfortable position for her legs, Mipha gave up and groaned. “We should clean ourselves up,” she said with great reluctance.

A noncommittal grunt emanated from the heavy lump that had been Link not more than ten minutes ago. It took a considerable amount of effort to untangle herself from the sweaty Hylian and roll off the bed. Mipha walked on unsteady legs to one of the long, table-height cabinets that walled in the little living space. She opened a drawer, pulled out two large washcloths, and grabbed a pitcher of water from the impressive amount of vessels scattered about the cabinets' surfaces.

She poured a liberal amount of water on the cloths, not caring if any split onto the stone floor. Mipha tossed one to Link, who was sitting hunched over, one foot tracing circles on the ground. The washcloth landed on his hair with a little plop and fell over his over his right eye. He looked up, scratched behind an ear, grabbed his new hat, and proceeded to gently clean himself.

The Zora Princess thought briefly about apologizing for smacking him in the head with a wet rag-- she had honestly thought he'd catch it-- but decided not to say anything, choosing instead to focus on the nightmare that was her lover's seed dribbling down her leg…

 _Oh, Jabu-Jabu! Why does this have to be so gross?!_ Her mother never warned her about how gross sex would be! _Water. Next time in the water._

A _nd after he accepts my armor,_ under _the water_ , she thought as she scrubbed her thighs, a smile creeping onto her face.

It was very true that the royal family had lost the secrets needed to create the prized water-breath enchantment long ago, but the Great Fairies had far reaching memories and were easily bribed. Now, Mija and her sisters weren't willing to just hand out such coveted knowledge, but they would happily bless her armor with said enchantment for the right price. Mipha just needed to adjust the design slightly to meet the requirements laid out by the giant spirit.

There was so much she wanted to show him. There were things scattered about the waterways of Hyrule that hadn't been seen by the other races in thousands of years. Link loved to explore, and stick his nose into every nook and cranny he could find, much to the chagrin of shopkeepers and city watchmen alike. His father had broken him of rummaging through pots and jars while they lived in the Domain, and his knight's training taught him not to act on his omnipresent urge to trespass, but nothing could ever quell his adventurous spirit. He would love every minute of it! And if she could pull his attention away from a sunken chest long enough to get his blood flowing...

If the Zora woman wasn't so tired she might have started bouncing with excitement. An act of pure joy that would have been most unbecoming for someone of her age and stature. Only tadpoles hopped about on trembling legs. And yet, even though she couldn't remember what it was like to breathe air for the first time, Mipha was certain this was what it had felt like. 

She was so sure because her father regularly told the story, and she had seen it mirrored in Sidon when he devoured his first gulp of air. His poor little lungs. They hadn't been ready for such a challenge, and he coughed and spit and swore to never, ever leave the nursery again. Her first time hadn't been quite so traumatic, but it did take a solid two days of coaxing to get her to surface for the first time. According to her father, she couldn't stop shaking, or be kept off the rocks dotting the Domain's basin after that first, timid breath.

Mipha took a deep breath. It was funny how easily she gave the element her trust, when it had once been such a strange and terrifying thing. She looked to Link, who was staring at his washcloth with confusion.

The Champion sighed. "Here," she said, walking over and holding out the hand that held her own cloth.

Link gave it to her with a grunt of appreciation. He moved to settle back into the waterbed's center, but quickly stopped and pulled his hand to his face in mild horror.

"What's wrong?" Mipha asked, remembering to wipe the back of her neck before setting the cloths into a drawer meant for dirty bedding.

"Bed's leaking," he said, looking genuinely fearful.

Mipha clutched her forehead and groaned in mental anguish. "No, Link. No, it is not."

The Zoras made their water beds to withstand the claws and teeth of careless children during one of their many nipping phases, and to withstand the passion of adults. There was no possible way in the Sacred Realm that their little romp had popped it. And even if it had, they would have noticed sooner.

"Wet," Link said pointing to an obvious damp spot in the sheets. He sounded like a little kid, desperate not to have his tale of the Boar Demon hiding in the cupboards be dismissed by a tired parent.

Mipha's eyelid twitched with impatience. Her body was returning to its normal, unaroused state. This was normally relaxing, but the feeling of her vaginal folds closing whilst she was standing was unnatural at best. She opened two large doors in the cabinet nearest to the bed and pulled out a large, Rito down quilt. A precious treasure whose use was normally reserved for the fall months. But this was an emergency. She did not have the time or willpower to change the bedsheets right now. If the bed were bigger, they could have slept around it, but it had been built with only one occupant in mind.

She just wanted to cuddle and sleep, so she shook out the blanket until its full mass was spread out, then she carefully laid it on the floor and pointed at it. Link looked her dead in the eyes, trying to suss out the meaning behind this new action.

"Link, we didn't pop the bed. Just…" _why do I have to explain this to you?!_ "Just think for a minute… about what could have left a _wet_ spot on the bed." _Figure it out, figure it out, sweet Father In The Skies, let him figure it out._

The knight seemingly dismissed the idea of deeper thought with a shake of his head. He grabbed the pillows and slid to the floor without further complaint. He curled up on his side in the center of the quilt, wrapping part of it over himself and patting the spot in front of him. Mipha all but collapsed next to him. She snuggled into him, and he pulled the excess fabric on her side over them both.

"So warm," she said once she was firmly pressed against him. Snuggling with a Hylian was infinitely better for fighting off the cold than sunbathing. "Where were you last winter?"

Link snorted when he heard that and waggled his eyebrows at her. It took Mipha a solid minute of watching his eyebrows rise and fall before she figured out what was so funny.

"Our fertility doesn't affect our libido, you know." If she rolled her eyes any harder they might create a whirlpool… if she were also underwater.

"In fact," she went on, nonplussed by the knight's frowning, "couples often prefer to abstain during the first season."

Link poked her chest. "No fun." He sighed. "Thirsty."

"Me too. Why don't you grab us some water from over there?" she asked, gesturing in the vague direction of at least half a dozen bottles.

Link, Nayru bless his soul, crawled out of their makeshift nest without so much as a disgruntled sigh to hunt down drinks for them. The Zora Champion once again found herself admiring her comrade's backside. Although, this was the first time she had seen it bare.

 _Better with trousers_ , she decided. _Leaves more to the imagination. Oh, a birthmark, what an interesting shape._

Before she could figure out what animal the discolored patch of skin resembled most, Link turned around, three small bottles cradled in his arms. Mipha had to stifle a giggle when her eyes wandered south. His penis was so tiny now! And it bunched a little with each step he took. It really was adorable. Weird, but adorable.

What wasn't so adorable was the purple and blue outline of her hand on his left hip. She knew he’d wanted it, and she herself enjoyed being able to handle him so roughly, but she couldn't suppress the guilt of being so careless with his well-being. If nothing else for the fact that bruise would make wearing his clothes painful.

Link plopped down on the blanket, handed Mipha a bottle, then opened another and chugged it. He resettled on his back under the quilt while the Zora Princess sipped on her own water, eyeing the third bottle he still held with suspicion. She couldn't remember what was in that exact bottle. Most of the vessels on her tables were benign things like water and juice, or cleaning oils for her jewelry and trident. Some, however, were filled with alcohol.

"Good to know," Link said as he turned the clear, purple bottle over in his hand.

"What is?" Mipha asked in mild confusion. She was pretty sure that comment had nothing to do with the potential drink he held.

"Ladies make a mess too," he replied simply.

The crimson Zora snorted at that. "How did you never notice with your others?"

Her lover looked very uncomfortable with that question, but answered anyway. "Never in bed." He rolled onto his side and shoved the bottle in her face. "You drink?"

"Um," she started, unsure if she should apologize for her question. "Rarely, yes, but I'm a bit of a lightweight."

Link uncorked the drink and took a cautious sip. He scrunched up his eyes and whistled after he swallowed the liquid, then he passed it to Mipha.

"We shouldn't," she said with a sigh. "You'll need to head back soon and I have to attend a meeting not long after dawn."

Link set the bottle on the ground, then raised an eyebrow and pointed to himself.

The Princess sighed again. "We're a… poorly kept secret, I admit, but it wouldn't do to have the elders guessing at how serious we are right now." Mipha paused for a minute, then added, "Or how casual we might be."

Mipha ran her hand down Link's arm from shoulder to wrist, trying to get at the cork in his fist. He caught on to the plan fast, and quickly moved his hand above and behind him. The Zora Champion stretched feverishly across the knight's body for her lost prize, managing to push him onto his back before deciding it wasn't worth the effort, and settled down on her lover's chest.

"You know how they are," she whined. "If they found out we're courting, they'll throw a tantrum. They already feel like Hyrule is stealing me from them."

Mipha trailed her nails down his side until she reached his bruise. "May I heal this?" She asked, remembering his strange reaction to the other injury she inflicted on him.

He nodded, and she continued to vent as the light of her magic washed the painful mark from his skin. "And if they think it's just sex, they'll be insulted that the Hylian Champion thinks he can have his way with their princess just because Zoras are known to be promiscuous."

Link shrugged and shook his head at that last comment.

Mipha rested her hand on his now markless hip. "We're not? We don't exactly hide it," she said in a skeptical voice.

He shook his head again.

"I suppose we aren't open about it either." She sighed and returned to her previous thoughts. "King Rhoam and his mother before him have not been good our kingdom. Eighty-two years, Link."

Mipha started tracing his scars again, punctuating each sentence with a tap of her finger. "Eighty-two years of failing relations. Of trying to renegotiate trade agreements in ways that heavily favor their economy over ours. Eighty-two years of them ignoring our complaints about their poorly behaved officials.

"Eighty-two years of them trying to build that damnable fort in Toto Lake. Eighty-two years! Of poachers running rampant along our rivers! Eighty-two years of the Hylian royal family threatening us with sanctions if we don't release said poachers from prison!" Mipha's anger was starting to boil out into her voice as her fist flailed wildly in the air.

Link reached out for her wrist, gently bringing her knuckles to his lips.

"I'm sorry," she said, feeling guilty.

Another shake of the head. 

Mipha smiled at him. "My point is, the Crown of Hyrule has been acting like they can do whatever they want with us-- their oldest allies-- and then they come and ask a favor of us." She shook her head. "I've been listening to Muzu too much."

"His anger is justified," Link mumbled sleepily.

The Princess closed her eyes and nestled against Link's chest, listening carefully to his heart.

 _The world must truly be ending_ , she thought with mild amusement. _Muzu might have keeled over if he heard that._

Mipha put aside the image of her teacher's face if he found out that “troublesome Hylian” conceded he was right.

"And then you come along and march your way into my heart--"

"--And between your legs," Link cut in with a wolfish grin.

The Zora Champion chuckled at that. "And between my legs," she added with a shy smile, then sighed for the umpteenth time that night. "They seem to forget the fact that I am a grown adult, capable of making my own decisions and being… well, less than perfect."

Link made a funny sound and pointed to himself. Then he held his hand about half a foot above the blanket before pointing at Mipha, and then letting his hand hover barely an inch off the quilt.

Mipha frowned and poked Link on the nose, causing his eyes to cross. Satisfied he'd learned his lesson, she patted his head and ruffled his silky hair. The knight's eyes immediately uncrossed and closed slightly in content. If she didn't know any better, the Princess would honestly believe the Hero had been a dog in a past life, but Link was just that; The Hero. And the Hero always came back as a man, and only when he was needed.

 _How sad_ , she thought and moved to kiss him lightly. _To never live a life of true peace._

"I may not be grown," Mipha agreed, pushing her dark thoughts away. "but I _am_ an adult, and the only one in the court who recognizes that, is Father."

"I never aged past nine, to my father," Link said in a helpful tone.

"I… think I understand." Mipha scratched her belly absentmindedly, thinking back to when Sidon's egg was first brought to the river. "The elders do seem to have an… obsession, of sorts, for royal hatchlings. You'd think they were an endangered species from the way they act."

"Think he'll figure it out?" Link said, not adding any context to his seemingly off-topic question.

The red Zora thought long and hard about what he meant. _Who would figure out wh-- oh!_

"You mean Muzu?"

Nod.

"No. He'll blame either Sidon or you," she said, reaching for the alcohol. "Of course, I'll defend you both. All I need do is assure him I personally saw to the release of those frogs."

Link handed her the cork. "The truth? Won't you…?"

"Get in trouble?" Mipha asked, taking a sip of the drink, much to the surprise of her lover. "No. After all, I am the sweet, innocent Princess Mipha. I can do no wrong." A smile crept onto her countenance. "I certainly wouldn't set loose eight frogs into the elders' sleeping pool, _nor_ would I ever do something so wicked as to unleash another eleven upon on my beloved teacher's office."

"And of course I never lie. Nope," she said, shaking her head. "Such things are not in my nature. Sidon? Oh, he's an honest boy. He couldn't fib to save his life. And you?" She took another drink. "You may have been a troublemaker in your youth, but you're an honorable knight now. I have both of you as witnesses to the safe and responsible release of the frogs we collected today."

Mipha passed the drink to Link and, looking at the ceiling, said, "No. It couldn't have been us. But I do wonder, who could do something so _terrible_ to our respected, flawless, and grand elders."

The knight let out an amused huff. "With Muzu's infinite wisdom? We'll know by dawn." With that said, he took another drink.

Mipha grabbed the bottle and took an eager gulp, reveling in how the beverage burned her throat on its way down. The Gorons really knew how to make wine. Although their wine was much closer to whiskey in taste and power than any "proper" wine she'd ever had.

Link nudged her, brows raised in question as she set the bottle on the ground.

"My meeting?" She asked, once again scratching her stomach. "Isn't that important." _Oh, scale!_ She thought, the Goron wine already slurring her thoughts. "I'd skip it if I could."

The Zora woman started working the loose scale free from its brethren. It was the last one! This night truly couldn't get any better for the lovestruck princess.

"Honestly, all I want to do for the next few days is laze about with you, like this," she said, examining the small treasure closely. Mipha looked at Link out of the corner of her eye. He was waggling his eyebrows suggestively.

"You know, part of my duties tomorrow is inspecting the stands set up by foreign merchants… there's this one Gerudo who is very discreet and sells some… interesting items." Mipha sat up and rested her palm on the knight's abdomen. "She even has a Gerudo spin on a... traditionally Zoran accessory."

The young woman licked her lips, hoping it would be titillating to the man hanging off her every word. "It's worn on the head and holds open the mouth-- most importantly, it covers the teeth."

Link's expression as this information slowly sunk in was worth all the world's rupees. His face lit up with surprise, excitement, and lust in rapid succession.

"I'll pay," he whispered quickly.

"No, I can--" Link sat upright and grabbed her wrists, shaking his head and working his mouth up and down.

"Okay, okay," she said giggling, "I'll let you buy it."

"You spoil me," he mumbled, gently opening her fingers.

"I have to. It's such a rare treat to see you… I wa… we need to make the most of it," Mipha explained. Her thoughts were unfocusing more and more each minute.

 _Wait, where'd my scale go?_ She looked over the off-white quilt in confusion. _I just had it!_

"C-- may I keep thesh?" He slurred, holding the item in question to his face.

 _Oh, no… I need that!_ Of course she couldn't say she did, it would give away the surprise.

"W-why?" Mipha asked, trying not to let panic take over her features.

"Isesh good luck…" he said, looking a bit sheepish. Link knew very well about the White Scale tradition.

Had he guessed her plans? Was he hinting at his own desires?

"Just want, keep you with me," he said and stood up.

 _If only you knew_ , Mipha thought tiredly. "I don't see the harm in it," she decided aloud. _It's not like I'll run out. Just need to wait a little longer._

Link set the tiny scale down on one of the counters and motioned for her to stand. When she finally dragged herself to her feet, Link herded her off the quilt. Mipha tilted her head in quiet contemplation as he picked it up and spread half of it over the water bed, and replaced the pillows. He crossed the short distance between them and swept her legs out from under her. Link stumbled a bit when he was supporting Mipha's full weight, which caused the Princess to yelp.

The knight recovered quickly and, not acknowledging his near disastrous mistake, set his lover on the bed and crawled in after her. Link reached behind himself for the other half of the blanket and threw it over them both. He pulled Mipha closer to himself and tucked the blanket under her body, creating a near perfect seal to keep them warm. Why hadn't she thought of this? It was obvious. And where did the wine go? She wasn't done with it yet.

"Oh, we left the wine on the floor," she realized aloud.

Link's only response was to tighten his arms possessively around the exhausted Zora. He didn't care for her leaving.

That was fine. She didn't care for that idea either.

 _Warm. Oh, so warm. Why, how are you so warm?_ Surely Din's glorious Fire lay nestled somewhere in her Hylian lover's body.

She could lose a century to his heat alone. If, that is, she could convince the very active man to laze about for days at a time.

 _He'd… never refuse a request related to my well being_ , Mipha thought groggily.

Her lips rose and fell in a half smile, her mind too far from her body for her face to properly show emotion.

For the first time in her life, the Zora Princess couldn't wait for winter.

 

 

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**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so before we dig into my thought process, I have a challenge for you all. The first person to successfully guess and comment the name of the Zelda entity I'm referencing in the start of this chapter gets to make a request. I shall tackle whatever pairing, emotion, or theme they want. I am slowing building to something big in this AU of mine and said entity will have an important role.
> 
> Note time!
> 
> Firstly, this isn't another "the guy has a big dick" story. Link is average, and I wouldn't have mentioned his size at all if it weren't for the fact I wanted to highlit differences between a human and a Zora penis without actually showing one in-story. it wouldn't have made much sense with the choices I've made. I've been working on a headcanon for what this race's genitals are like.
> 
> The vagina. My main idea was to keep all the fun internal. I ended up giving them ridges where the g-spot is found, which ended up acting like an internal clitoris that also stimulates her partner.
> 
> The penis. It's only slightly thinner than a human's but has ridges to stimulate the females "g-spot". The size of the penis varies among men, like in humans, but is also proportional to the size of their bodies. King Dorephan would be... terrifying to say the least. Sidon would also be an intimidating size.
> 
> Orgasms. I decide to make things interesting by giving female Zoras longer orgasms than their human counterparts. Like, each one is a couple minutes long. I did this to make up for the fact they have no external way to pleasure themselves. Males don't immediately deflate after their climax, and can even be brought back into action faster than a human. I like of Zoras being horny all the time, and being built for muiltple short couplings, instead of one longer session. Although I don't think that fully came across with what I wrote.
> 
> Oral! So, I wanted to add a level of difficulty to an interspecies relationship like this one. The teeth seemed to be the best way to do this. It makes sense for them to be deadly, and many people seem to share that sentiment. I've seen retractable teeth around the internet, but that's too easy narratively, and too much work from a biological stand pint. Nature is a minmaxer. It wants the most results from the least amount of effort. It makes more sense for them to evolve a long, dexterous tongue as a secondary sex trait.
> 
> Stamina. Neither of them really have it yet. Not much to say outside of that. Well, part of me was tempted to be evil and have Link climax prematurely, but, meh.
> 
> Sex is gross! Penises are gross! Vaginas are Gross! The whole thing is messy and emotional, and not many people write about the less than perfect experience. I wanted to be different and to capture the awkwardness of two in-love virgins trying their damndest to get things right, and still maintain an erotic and emotional overtone.
> 
> I originally planned to have Mipha cry after sex, nut quickly changed it to Link because she seems less likely to overwhelmed by emotions than him. Suppressing your feelings is not healthy and doesn't mean you know how to handle them, or even understand them.
> 
> I originally wasn't going to have Zoras be seasonal breeders because I didn't like the trope much, buuuuuttttt.... It happened any and I'm fine with that. 
> 
> I'm sure that I had other thoughts I wanted to share, but I've been at my desk for a few hours now and desperately need to kick this thing out of my house. 
> 
> I really couldn't have done this without the help of InfiniteSeahorse, who is the main reason half of what I type is readable by the time it gets to you lovely people. They are a budding author themselves and deserve a shout out. No, really. I do most of my writing at 3 AM, and the amount of typos I make, and just how... odd they can get... Just look at this one.
> 
> {"No, I can--" Link shit upright and grabbed her wrists, shaking his head and working his mouth up and down.}
> 
> How did I even manage that? and why did it have to be pointed out to me before I noticed it?! This person is a lifesaver. Go and praise them.
> 
> Thank you so much to the people who have been following this story and to the newcomers alike. This thing kind of blew up when compared to my other works, and makes me hopeful that I will see you all again in my next upload.  
> Thank you to all who left a kudos.
> 
> Please, leave a comment and share your thoughts. I am on this site to learn and am eager to receive feedback and criticism. Have a good night and a wonderful tomorrow!


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